Gary Lineker has admitted he would like to see Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold in a similar role to Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
The Match of the Day host revealed he would love Alexander-Arnold in a more progressive role when quote tweeting a video of the England international’s best passes against Genk in the 2-1 win at Anfield on Tuesday evening.
Writing on his personal Twitter account on Wednesday morning, Lineker displayed his affection for the 21-year-old who has cemented his spot in Jurgen Klopp’s side in the past two years.
“Would love to see Alexander-Arnold play a similar role to De Bruyne,” he wrote.
Would love to see @trentaa98 play a similar role to @DeBruyneKev https://t.co/ODGfyzDdwJ
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 6, 2019
Alexander-Arnold has completed every minute of this season’s Premier League for the Reds, and the only game he has missed is the recent away trip to Genk in the Champions League.
OPINION
It is clear to see that Alexander-Arnold could easily slot into a midfield role with his ability on the ball and going forward for the Reds. The problem would arise around his positional sense, and how he would cope with being asked to fit into Klopp’s system in a new role – it could get quite overwhelming for the youngster. The full-back position is perfect for him at this stage in his career, he gets given the space he craves out wide with him and Andy Robertson both being pushed forward at any given opportunity. Klopp isn’t as strict with Alexander-Arnold as he is with his midfield, who are primarily more defensive than his actual full-backs. De Bruyne is the master playmaker in the Premier League and already has six more assists as well as averaging more key passes than the Reds’ defender according to WhoScored. It would be harsh to compare Alexander-Arnold to De Bruyne though given their differences, but the 21-year-old does complete almost 20 more passes in each outing. Although it would be fascinating to see him pushed into the midfield, Alexander-Arnold is much more suited at wing-back and Liverpool can continue to reap the rewards of his game by simply leaving him where he is.
