Former England international Danny Mills has identified the Liverpool defender who he feels should be named PFA Player of the Year – but he has not backed Virgil van Dijk to retain the prize that he won in 2019.
The ex-Manchester City right-back instead picked Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Reds’ current first choice in that position, as a deserving candidate for the honour, which has been bestowed on Liverpool players for the last two seasons, with Van Dijk following on from Mohamed Salah in 2018.
When asked about his pick for Player of the Year, Mills told Football Insider: “You expect it to come from Liverpool, definitely. Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane will be mentioned but I think Trent Alexander-Arnold deserves it. To do what he has done from full-back. But it is very difficult as a defender to win the award unless you have an outstanding season like Virgil Van Dijk. He had such an influence to go on as a defender and win it.”
When looking at the influence that Alexander-Arnold has had on Liverpool this season, it is understandable why Mills has singled him out for such lavish praise. Even as a defender, he has set up more goals than any of his team-mates in the current campaign, registering 14 assists in all competitions. Since the start of 2018/19, the right-back has provided no fewer than 30 assists for the Reds, marking him out as an astonishingly effective attacking outlet, while only Kevin De Bruyne has set up more goals in this season’s Premier League.
Aside from his assists figures, the 21-year-old has averaged more key passes per game (2.6) than anyone else at Liverpool this term, while only four players have averaged more than his 1.2 shots per game. He has also put in far more crosses than anyone else in the squad, with his match average of 2.3 more than twice that of the next most frequent crosser Andrew Robertson. [via WhoScored]
It isn’t just as an attacking right-back that Alexander-Arnold has excelled, either. Despite being called out over apparent defensive shortcomings by Gary Neville on Sky Sports earlier this season (via Daily Mail), the youngster has actually been quite accomplished in his defensive contribution to Liverpool. He has won 1.6 tackles per game, the second highest figure in the Reds’ defence, while only two players surpass his match average of 1.2 interceptions (as per WhoScored).
Alexander-Arnold has had a profound influence in both a defensive and attacking sense for Liverpool in a season which looks set to end with them becoming Premier League champions, so it should come as no great surprise that Mills has championed his cause as potential PFA Player of the Year material.
Liverpool fans, do you agree with Mills’ claims that Alexander-Arnold would be a deserving successor to Van Dijk as PFA Player of the Year? Have your say by commenting below!
