Paul Merson has compared Trent Alexander-Arnold’s passing range to that of midfield sensation Kevin De Bruyne.
The 54-year-old is the latest expert to push for the fullback to eventually make a move to the middle of the park to fully utilize the aforementioned trait to the team’s advantage.
“From my point of view, England are producing good midfielders, but they are not really prolific passers like Thiago or Jorginho,” the former England international told Sportskeeda.
“Declan Rice is an excellent box-to-box midfielder, while Kalvin Phillips is a player who cares more about his work-rate and industry than his passing.
“Trent Alexander-Arnold played as a midfielder in his youth at Liverpool and also once for England.
“It’s a tough position as the game literally runs through you, so you have to get much more involved over the course of the 90 minutes.
“His passing range is up there with the best in the country along with De Bruyne, so I would like to see him play in midfield at some point in the future.”
However, an earlier experiment in the middle of the park, while reporting for Gareth Southgate’s England, didn’t quite go to plan and, in fact, ended up almost excluding the 23-year-old from action.
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While we can understand the vague logic behind moving our best running back higher up the field, it overlooks the obvious flaw that it would severely compromise our playstyle.
Since our wingers are still critical to Jurgen Klopp’s system, providing flank bombardment and allowing Alexander-Arnold to see the full length of the field in front of him, pushing the Scouser forward would limit his sphere of influence.
With all due respect to Merson, it’s an idea that only makes sense in principle and is unlikely to benefit Liverpool or England any time soon.
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