Trent Alexander-Arnold should not be moved into the Liverpool midfield, according to ex-Kop ace Jason McAteer.
There has been talk in recent times about the England full-back potentially moving into the centre of the park, a role he used to play in for the academy, mimicking the same transition made by Steven Gerrard during his own spell at Anfield.
But McAteer is not keen on the idea.
As quoted by the Echo, he said: “Yes, Trent could play in midfield – indeed he started off as a central midfielder when he came through the academy.
“But nowadays he is very much a wing-back and the system Liverpool employ is perfect for him. He’s got quality when he puts balls into the box and he can get back and defend when required to do so.
“When you are a midfielder you need awareness both sides, in front and behind. You need a range of different attributes to play in that position and I just think he’s set up to play on the right.
“There’s a danger you would get less of a player if you played him in midfield.”
OPINION
As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Nobody is doubting that Trent Alexander-Arnold could play in the centre of the park. At the end of the day, he strikes a ball so well and with such technique that you could probably play him up top and he’d do a half decent job. He’s a fantastic footballer, plain and simple, but he is also a world class right-back already, and it seems daft to mess with that. It’s not as if the Reds are struggling for midfielders, and while he may still fill in in the engine room for the odd game here and there, it makes a lot more sense to leave the youngster where he is, at least for the foreseeable future. He is improving defensively, and he is arguably a more lethal attacking threat in his current berth, making an average of 3.7 key passes per game for the Reds this season, as per Whoscored. As McAteer says, leave well alone.
