Speaking in 2022, Dunk, now 33, said he wanted to remain “a one-club man” at Amex Stadium.
“I was born here, my childhood was here, I’ve played for and captained the club… to do it in your home town, not many people get to do that,” he explained., external
But Dunk is not your typical footballer.
The idea of playing for the club you support – and spending your entire professional career with them – may be the stuff of dreams for fans, but it doesn’t often quite work out like that for players.
“It’s sometimes really hard for supporters – you feel like they fall for it every time. ‘This player really loves us’… and then they move on,” former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports. “Players don’t think like supporters.
“He [Alexander-Arnold] will lose something that he’s got right now in terms of the Liverpool fans.
“Some people will say playing for Real Madrid… that price isn’t worth paying. While others will say you’ve got to play for Real Madrid, they’re the biggest club in the world.
“That is something he’s sacrificed. That’s his decision.”
And then there are the downsides to being a local player.
Chris Sutton was a Premier League winner with Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95 – but his first taste of professional football was with Norwich.
The former striker was born in Nottingham but his family moved to Norfolk when he was a couple of years old, so for him it was his hometown club.
“Is there a difference when you are playing for your local club? Yes, because you have this attachment to the club, your family and the area. You are playing for them all,” he told BBC Sport.
“From the outside, people always think how great it is when someone has come through and is playing for his boyhood club, but in many ways there is greater pressure than when you have moved somewhere.
“You don’t always get more patience from fans just because you are a local lad, but that is a consequence of the environment and the expectations at clubs. A lot of the time now, fans expect immediate success from these players coming through. They want them to be the finished article.
“A few years ago, I did think you maybe got a longer opportunity to prove yourself as a young player. I think now, though, we’re in an age of instant judgement.”
