Jurgen Klopp made a bold decision to play Trent Alexander-Arnold as an inverted full-back in the final 10 games of last season and now it seems that Gareth Southgate may be plotting to make a similar positional switch.
Speaking with the media ahead of England’s game with Malta, the 52-year-old said (via The Daily Mail): ‘You know that I think he is more than capable of playing there [in midfield] and it can be really exciting.
‘If we were to do that, we would not be expecting perfection because there is a lot to learn, particularly without the ball. It is different areas of the pitch.
‘With the ball, that is a more straightforward transition for him now. He has been playing there a little bit more for his club so it is something for us to consider, definitely.’
It was the former Middlesbrough boss who handed the Scouser his first senior game in midfield and, although this still hasn’t been fully witnessed for the Reds, his experience in the position is growing.
This new role for our No.66 has been discussed a lot already and the ability to operate from the right and centrally has opened up a new ability to be even more productive in an attacking sense.
Balancing his ability to help the attack and also be sound going in the other direction is the task at hand for the 24-year-old but it’s clear that his boss at Anfield has full faith that his man can do this.
The rhetoric is slightly different on the international stage though and it does appear that manager of the three lions is always happy to publicly criticise our generational talent.