Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold returned to action from his injury at the weekend, and he scored the winning goal against Leicester City.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been linked with a Bosman move away from Liverpool, and he has decided not to renew his contract with the club. The English international is expected to join Real Madrid on a free transfer.
Jamie Carragher has now urged Arne Slot to drop the England international from the starting lineup. The Liverpool legend believes that Slot should focus on building for the future, and he should opt for Conor Bradley as his first-choice right back until the end of the season.
“You can’t replace him, because what he is…” he said via GOAL. “The reason we talk about him so much, I think why he’s the most talked about full-back we’ve probably ever seen in the Premier League, is because he’s unique, he’s different. You’ve [Micah Richards] just mentioned about him defensively, now, most top full-backs don’t get it thrown at them that they’re not very good defensively.”
“But he’s so unique on the ball, I think I said four or five years ago, it’s like having Kevin De Bruyne playing right-back, that’s what it feels like in terms of his ability on the ball. He can come on and change games, so Liverpool aren’t going to replace that.”
“So you’re not going to be able to replace him, so forget that, but the big decision Liverpool have, or a couple of decisions between now and the end of the season, and the summer is…If Trent hasn’t committed, which he hasn’t obviously, to the manager for next season, he shouldn’t be starting games. He shouldn’t be…”
It will be interesting to see if Liverpool are willing to drop Alexander-Arnold from the starting lineup in the remaining games of the season. The Englishman is a world-class player, and he could make a huge difference for Liverpool at both ends of the pitch.
The Reds are close to winning the league title, and they can afford to shuffle their squad between now and the end of the season. They are within touching distance of the league title, and dropping Alexander-Arnold is unlikely to make a big difference to their season. However, it would send a strong statement to the boyhood Liverpool fan, who is expected to join Real Madrid.
Will Liverpool prefer to start Bradley?
Conor Bradley will be able to gain some valuable first-team experience until the end of the season as well. He is expected to replace Alexander-Arnold in the starting line up next season. While there is no doubt that the decision would be quite harsh on Alexander-Arnold, who has served the club well for a number of years, it could end up benefiting Liverpool in the long term.
It will be interesting to see how the situation develops. Alexander-Arnold is clearly in the final stretch of his Liverpool career, and he will hope to finish on a high. He will certainly look to play regularly in the coming weeks, and dropping him from the starting lineup would bring an unfortunate end to his glittering Liverpool career.
