Jurgen Klopp has stated that none of the players selected ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold for the England squad “has the package” like the Liverpool fullback, as reported by Sky Sports.
The 22-year-old was omitted from Gareth Southgate’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers, with the national boss preferring Kyle Walker, Reece James and Kieran Trippier.
“You can imagine a country who can leave Alexander-Arnold at home – they’re in a top place,” the German said. “I know there are good players out there and we don’t need to talk about the qualities of [Kyle] Walker, Reece James, [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka… England are blessed with a lot of talent.
“But none of these players, from my point of view, has the package like Trent. That’s my point of view. I’ve worked with him for nearly five and a half years as I brought him up pretty early and he’s developed every single day.”
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We’re more than happy to accept that different managers will want different attributes and players to compliment their chosen style of play.
However, there are a number of elite talents in world football that may supersede even the most stringent of requirements – Alexander-Arnold is arguably one of those players, having redefined the fullback role with Liverpool.
The Academy graduate may not have hit the same ridiculous levels he delivered across the last two seasons – partly due to his bout with COVID-19 in pre-season – but to leave a right-back of Trent’s calibre out of the squad seems devoid of any sense.
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