Arne Slot says Trent Alexander-Arnold is "fully committed" to Liverpool and will play against Manchester United on Sunday.
The 26-year-old right-back is out of contract this summer so he is now able to negotiate with overseas teams for a summer free transfer.
Widespread media reports have linked Alexander-Arnold with a move to Real Madrid, with some suggesting Liverpool have rejected an inquiry from the Spanish club to sign him this month.
When asked about Alexander-Arnold's future in his pre-match press conference, Slot said: "He's fully committed to us and he will play on Sunday, if they [the medical staff] don't tell me he's sick, but I don't expect them to!"
"I can tell you that he's playing on Sunday – and hopefully he brings the same performances as he brought in for the last half-year.
"I see him on the training ground every day working his arse off."
Speculation isn't destabilising the players
Alexander-Arnold is one of three Liverpool players who are out of contract this summer, with the others being captain Virgil van Dijk and star winger Mohamed Salah.
However, Slot says transfer speculation about any of his players isn't affecting them at all.
"If it would destabilise players at Liverpool if other people talk about them then we would really have a problem," Slot said.
"If you play at one of the biggest clubs in the world, everybody always – for 12 months long – is talking about you.
"Sometimes in relation to other clubs, that happens so, so, so many times for our players that if that destabilises them then we really would have had a problem – not only now but in the past six months.
"I think there were some talks about our players also in the last six months and I don't think they destabilised them at all."
'Trent can still improve'
When asked how much better Alexander-Arnold can get, Slot said: "Trent can still improve, I think I saw a bit of improvement already this season.
"These players are top of the world, so there's not a lot of room for improvement any more, but there's always a bit of improvement.
"Especially defensively, Trent, in my opinion, has made a step up this season. I think in some games he was outstanding in every part of the game, but there's sometimes been a bit of up and down as well. In other games he could've done a bit better.
"So, it's about consistency for top players and that is maybe where the biggest improvement for Trent is."
