“He’s Beckham and De Bruyne at right-back” – Alexander-Arnold earns plaudits

“He’s Beckham and De Bruyne at right-back” – Alexander-Arnold earns plaudits

The Englishman has successfully registered 17 assists this season.

Trent Alexander-Arnold surprised The reds boss from the first day the two met, and has earned plaudits for his astonishing performance on the pitch for Liverpool.

On October 25, 2016, at the age of 18, a boyhood Liverpool fan raised in the Melwood academy made his official debut with the senior side in a Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.

“Pep Lijnders, my assistant, brought him around and said, ‘He played No.6 [role] for me. He played full-back, he played right wing, left wing’,” Klopp told the Pure Football Podcast back in 2020.

Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold (photo by Getty images)

“Then he came and there was only one problem: Trent was not fit enough.

“But he was a kid so he was not fit enough, but we saw immediately… wow. Football-wise, no doubts.

“But not fit enough, so we had to work on that. But then he made steps by himself that were really unbelievable and that was really nice to see.

“Then he made mistakes and didn’t give up.”

During his five years at the club, Alexander-Arnold has played 211 games, scoring 12 goals and providing 60 assists that have helped Liverpool win a Premier League, Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, a Club World Cup and a Carabao Cup.

Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrate with his Liverpool teammates Roberto Firmino (Getty Images)

The youngster has already broken his assist record this season with17 assists across all tournaments, while in the Premier League he has the most assists with 11.

“I want to contribute as much as I can, I want to get as many assists as I can and help the team win games, so I think that is part and parcel of my game,” Alexander-Arnold said recently.

“I want to be in those positions to create for the team. I’ve racked up a lot of assists so far this season and hopefully many more.

“Hopefully we’ve got a lot of games in all competitions left to play, so hopefully I can keep adding to that tally and help the team win games.”

This season, Alexander-Arnold is the second defender with the most ball recoveries in the Premier League (184) after Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell (196).

“If [Alexander-Arnold] couldn’t defend, he would not play here – at least not that in that position,” said Klopp.

“He improved in all departments and defending of course as well, but he is that young that he can improve and has to improve, but yes, his defending is not a problem we have.”

Gary Neville praised Alexander-Arnold on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football and likened him to an England legend and one of the finest Premier League players.

“He’s the best passer of a footballer I’ve ever seen from full-back. Ever,” Neville said.

“He’s David Beckham and Kevin De Bruyne at right-back. It’s unbelievable what he does.”

In other news, Liverpool FC boss Jurgen Klopp gives latest Diogo Jota injury update after UEFA Champions League victory over Inter Milan