Danny Murphy has compared Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold to David Beckham, while backing the Reds’ defender to cement his place in the England national side.
The former Liverpool and Fulham midfielder revealed that the right-back would not look out of place in any position, with his crossing and passing some of the best he has ever seen.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Murphy compared Alexander-Arnold to the retired midfielder due to the abilities he possesses after Jim White asked who out of Kyle Walker, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Alexander-Arnold should play for England.
Murphy said: “Trent, for me, is as good a crosser of the ball as I’ve seen since Beckham. His technical ability, his passing ability is very unusual for a full-back, normally it’s a midfielder that possesses those type of qualities.”
“His set plays and his crossing is phenomenal, I mean, the thing is he’s going to create and make goals wherever he plays, whatever team and whatever position.”
Alexander-Arnold registered 16 assists last season in 40 appearances in both the Premier League and the Champions League.
OPINION
To compare Alexander-Arnold to Beckham is a big statement to make, especially so early in the Liverpool full-backs career. There is no arguing that the 20-year-old has a phenomenal delivery and the ability to pick out any pass on the football pitch no matter the situation. Klopp obviously puts big pressure on his wing-backs to bomb up and down the pitch to create an extra outlet in the final third, and Alexander-Arnold has benefitted from that massively, with his passing ability taking centre stage in the past year or so. The 20-year-old continued last season’s great form in the Reds’ opener against Norwich on Friday, earning an assist when he played a beautiful long-range diagonal pass to set up Divock Origi who snatched at the chance to open his account. The England international also has the ability to score from set-pieces, as he as already proved away at Watford last season. Beckham did those type of things for years, consistently scoring from dead-ball situations as well as assisting, and if Alexander-Arnold continues to do that for the next decade, he can easily be compared to the Manchester United and England legend.
