Ledley King has backed Trent Alexander-Arnold to rival Kevin De Bruyne in the assists stakes during the upcoming Premier League season, a claim which’ll surely delight Liverpool fans.
The former Tottenham and England defender was accompanied by Paul Merson for Akshun AMA on Twitter Spaces were asked for their predictions on who would top the charts for setting up goals in 2023/24.
The ex-Arsenal man and Sky Sports pundit immediately plumped for the Manchester City star, leaving King with an obligation to select another player who he thinks could be in the running.
The 42-year-old replied: “I would have gone for De Bruyne, but I am going to go for Trent. If he plays in that midfield role, then I think he could be very high up on the assists.”
The Liverpool maestro ended the 2022/23 Premier League campaign with nine assists, which placed him joint-seventh in the division but was still just over half of De Bruyne’s unmatched tally of 16 (premierleague.com).
It’s worth noting, though, that the bulk of Trent’s haul came after he was redeployed in a hybrid role in April, with a sequence of six assists in five games following the positional switch very much justifying Jurgen Klopp’s tactical tweak (Transfermarkt).
He could well continue to play in midfield during 2023/24, having also done so for England in their summer European qualifiers and for the Reds in their first two pre-season games, so there’s a strong chance that the 24-year-old will be challenging the Belgian in the Premier League assists stakes.
Liverpool’s number 66 has hit double figures in that regard in three top-flight campaigns already (Transfermarkt), and we wouldn’t bet against him doing so once again this term.
Hopefully Trent will continue to make a significant attacking contribution in the season ahead, without compromising too much on his defensive duties.
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