Trent Alexander-Arnold, a Liverpool defender, has been brilliant for England over the international break, being trusted to play as a right-back by interim manager Lee Carsley.
Despite his form for Liverpool in the position, Gareth Southgate never seemed to trust Alexander-Arnold as a right-back, or perhaps he was simply too attached to Kyle Walker.
However, in this new England age, Alexander-Arnold appears to be one of the first names on both club and national team rosters.
That isn’t to say Arne Slot doesn’t have misgivings about the defender’s game.
Slot was furious with Alexander-Arnold at one point against Manchester United, despite how good the game was going.
Gary Neville cannot believe how well-versed Trent Alexander-Arnold is in football.
On the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast, Gary Neville discussed an interview he had with the Liverpool defender last season.
Neville was conversing with Roy Keane and others about how good Alexander-Arnold was for England during the break.
The analyst then revealed how much the Liverpool defender startled him throughout the chat.
Neville stated, “I questioned him for two or three hours last season. “Roy, I was stunned.”
“Honestly, I was captivated by the idea that, you know, you look at someone and say he’s a wonderful player, but then you look at him, and I’ve been critical of him defensively, and you’ve been critical of him.
“You said he shouldn’t play in the midfield. I couldn’t believe how much he knew about football history over the last 20-25 years, how many games he watched, and how invested he was.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have been startled, but I couldn’t believe it. He was quite inquisitive.”
Liverpool need to work out Alexander-Arnold’s contract.
Alexander-Arnold is definitely better at starting from right-back for club and country, as he has proven with Liverpool this season.
Yes, the Liverpool star can play in the middle, but he performs better when he starts from a deeper position.
Finally, Southgate was incorrect to commit to such a significant change at the Euros, with Alexander-Arnold in the middle; if that was the plan, it should have been thoroughly tested beforehand.
However, Liverpool fans are probably more concerned about Trent’s contract issue right now.
With that in mind, Steve McManaman recently provided three significant Liverpool contract updates.
