The arrival of new signings this summer promises to bolster Liverpool’s squad but also give the club’s upcoming youngsters a tougher fight on their hands for a place in the first team.
A busy transfer window ensures a healthy competition for places but by no means hampers the chances of the Reds starlets making a name for themselves at Anfield.
Trent Alexander-Arnold fits that bill and will undoubtedly be a key part of what Jurgen Klopp has planned for Liverpool moving forward. He has perhaps emerged as the front-runner in a batch of highly-talented youth players, posing as someone expected to become a first team regular in years to come.
Discussing Klopp, his breakthrough season and the added challenge that summer signings will bring, he told the Liverpool Echo: “I never expected it to go as well as it did. I’m grateful and happy for the opportunities and the faith the manager showed in me.”
“I can only say thank-you to him and hopefully I’ve proved to him that I deserved those chances he gave me. I am over the moon with this season and I’m already looking forward to next season starting.”
“I have to come back better, fitter and stronger. The game is getting quicker every single season so you need to come back ready to battle for a place.”
“You know there are going to be some new signings so in pre-season you have to fight for a position and show the manager why he can rely on you. Hopefully I’ll do that.”
It’s difficult to believe he is only 18-years-old given not only how confident has had looked for the senior side but also how maturely he speaks away from the pitch. He already works with the kind of mentality that makes him a young role model to the kids striving to achieve what he has so far in his career.
He has looked a class above his opponents for the U23s this season and if early signs are anything to go by, could save the club millions of pounds in the future.