Former England manager Sam Allardyce believes Jurgen Klopp failed to improve Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defensive abilities.
The right-sided defender has exceptional technical ability, but he has often found himself vulnerable against opposition forwards.
WIth the demands placed on modern full-backs and wing-backs often coming with an emphasis on offence, Alexander-Arnold has kept his place as a creative outlet.
He has even had spells in his midfield, such is his technical ability.
Speaking to No Tippy Tappy Football, Allardyce explained: “Trent Alexander-Arnold’s weakest point is his defending. It is difficult to understand that Jürgen Klopp was at Liverpool for so long and we still haven’t seen his defending get any better. When Liverpool had a tough time with injuries, he got exposed more than ever.
“He is a fantastic player and he’s brilliant on the ball. He can thread a 60-yard pass as well as anyone else can play a ball 20 yards, that’s how good his passing is. In the three-year period where Liverpool were winning the Premier League and Champions League he hardly ever had to defend, so that part of his game never really got exposed until they got a lot of injuries and started losing games.”
However, Allardyce believes the 25-year-old has enough ability to play in midfield despite the presence of Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice.
He continued: “He got slaughtered for his defending but it looks like he’s overcome that due to the fact that he can also play in midfield. People will say that he won’t be as effective as Declan Rice or Jude Bellingham in midfield but they don’t know what they’re talking about, they need to keep their mouths shut.”
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