Former England international Gary Lineker has urged would-be Liverpool manager Arne Slot to deploy Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield from next season. Lineker is confident that the right-back will be an excellent addition to the Reds’ midfield.
Gary Lineker Urges Liverpool Boss Arne Slot To Make Massive Trent Alexander-Arnold Call
The 2-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday (May 19) marked the end of Jurgen Klopp‘s tenure as Liverpool manager. The German, who won it all in his nine years at the club, addressed the Anfield faithful after the game, thanking them for their support. He also announced Slot as the club’s new manager.
Slot, who guided Feyenoord to a second-place finish in the Eredivisie in 2023-24, has big shoes to fill in England, and Lineker has urged him to start with a bold move.
On The Rest Is Football podcast, the ex-Barcelona striker said:
“He’s still playing right-back for Liverpool. Occasionally he has played in midfield, but it’s kind of the inverted full-back role, he goes and does what he wants.
“I hope the new manager when he comes in plays Trent in midfield at Liverpool. I think that’s his position, I really do, I always have. It would be lovely to see him play there regularly.”
Alexander-Arnold got a taste of midfield action in the last one-and-a-half years under Klopp. He earned plaudits for his ability to spray passes from deep, but the German did not keep Alexander-Arnold in midfield. In the 2023-24 season, the full-back started only twice from midfield, but he would occasionally move up when the situation demanded.
Assistant Manager Pep Lijnders Put Money On The Line To Deploy Alexander-Arnold In Midfield
Pep Lijnders, who will also leave the club this summer, was the one who compelled Klopp to deploy Alexander-Arnold in midfield. In fact, he put his own money on the line, as he was sure the 25-year-old would thrive in that role.
In a recent interview, he said (via LiverpoolECHO):
“What I said constantly to Jurgen was: ‘We have to do it’. ‘But Pep, blah blah blah’ [Klopp complained]. ‘We have to do it’. Until I was so sick of it that I went to Jurgen in this office and said, ‘Jurgen, next year you can f****** have all my f****** salary.
“If we don’t do it in the next game, it’s done for me. I can’t. We need the extra player, we need Trent there. I tell you it will work, it will work.”
Alexander-Arnold has played 310 games for Liverpool in all competitions since the 2016-17 season. He has scored 19 times and provided 81 assists.
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