Former Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair has given an interview in which he’s described Chelsea youngster Reece James as having ‘more to his game’ than Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Trent has played in the past two Champions League Finals, pocketing Cristiano Ronaldo in one and winning the other – while James has made the grand total of 17 Premier League appearances – and is just one year younger than Liverpool’s world-class Scouser.
The comments are so ridiculous they’re bordering on offensive, in all honesty.
“Defensively, Reece James is a better defender than Alexander-Arnold at the moment. But it is hard to find a full-back that produces as many assists in Europe than Trent does for Liverpool,” he told the Standard.
“Alexander-Arnold will likely command the right-back position for England for the next five or six years,” Sinclair conceded. “But Reece James will certainly push him, especially once he has gained more experience in the Premier League.
“As an all-round full-back, I think there is more to his game than Trent; he is good going forward but he is also very strong defensively.”
Why is there a stigma attached to Trent’s defending when he plays for the team that concedes the fewest goals in the top flight and is never directly at fault for a goal?
It’s pure laziness based on a few dodgy games he had aged 18 – it’s not even true.
Trent can defend well, but going forward, he’s in a different stratosphere to James or any other right-back in the business.
He’s already the only defender in Premier League history to register double figure assists in more than one campaign – and he’s only 21-years-old.