Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has said that Jurgen Klopp already has a player at Anfield who’s ‘like a younger version of Thiago’.
The Irishman made that claim about Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose move to a midfield/inverted full-back role has come at the same time that the Reds have won six games on the bounce to surge back into top-four contention.
In his latest column for the Liverpool Echo, the 64-year-old suggested that the England international is capable of replicating the qualities that his elder teammate has shown in the middle of the park.
Aldridge wrote: “Trent’s been a revelation in midfield, I’d go as far as saying that’s his new position – and I never thought I’d say anything like that – his future is there. Liverpool have to go out and get a really good right-back, it’ll save so much money.
“For what he’s doing, his vision, he can do what Thiago does, he’s like a younger version of Thiago in some respects but he’s quicker, more dynamic, he can defend better than Thiago.”
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Trent’s positional change has certainly unleashed his potential in an attacking sense, with six assists in five games in April following Klopp’s tactical tweak (Transfermarkt).
That’s somewhat negated by the fact that Liverpool didn’t keep a clean sheet in any of those matches, although the manager could see it as a calculated gamble where the rewards outweigh the risks.
As for Aldridge’s assertion that the 24-year-old is akin to having ‘a younger version of Thiago’, the statistical comparisons between the two Reds players are interesting.
As per FBref, Trent has won more tackles (37 v 24) and made far more interceptions (41 v 21) than the Spaniard, while also boasting a much better success rate in aerial duels (58.6% v 36.8%).
The elder of the two comes out on top for passing accuracy (86.2% v 75.3%), although this is explained to an extent by the England international being more likely to play long balls or put in crosses, which naturally carries a higher risk of possession being turned over than opting for a simple short pass.
Some might argue that the experiment with the Liverpool academy graduate shouldn’t become a long-term solution because it may leave us more exposed defensively, but he’s certainly shown that he’s a viable option in midfield if he’s needed in that position in future.