Jamie Carragher has waxed lyrical about Liverpool’s emerging fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The teenage Scouser has been with the club since he was a small boy, and has done excellently in our past two EFL Cup wins against Spurs and then Leeds on Tuesday.
He consistently got up the touchline and offered himself in attack, but remained solid defensively, too.
Carragher was so impressed that he suggested Trent ‘Double-A’ is ‘perfect’ physically in terms of his suitability for the modern fullback role. Nowadays, this position needs fast, powerful players who have bundles of energy, which the starlet is showing.
“We know now why Jürgen Klopp only went in with one recognised right back this season. His performance tonight was the same as against Spurs,” Carragher said, reported in the Independent.
“He just looks like a footballer, a fantastic athlete, perfect for the full back position.
“He’s only 18, so you think about how he’s going to look physically in three or four years’ time. He looks like he’s already got the legs and the pace. The strength will come too.”
Right now, Alexander-Arnold is back up to Nathaniel Clyne, who’s arguably the best right-back in the Premier League. But with an EFL Cup semi-final scheduled for January, as well as early FA Cup matches, the youngster will hopefully get more chances soon – with Carragher adding that he’ll step right up to the plate if Clyne can’t play.
“If Clyne goes out of the team through injury or suspension, he’s in,” Carragher continued.
“Clyne is an England international and he’s still got a long way to go this lad, but to have an 18-year-old kid as your back-up full back, thinking how big a club Liverpool are fighting on all fronts, challenging at the top of the league, it shows the faith Jürgen Klopp has in him.”