How Conor Bradley can help Liverpool unlock Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield
When Trent Alexander-Arnold returns to action from a knee injury next month, Liverpool could have the freedom to utilise the home-grown favourite in midfield should they wish to try it.
The reason for it is simple: the emergence of Conor Bradley as a viable alternative at right-back.
Alexander-Arnold has made Liverpool's right-back position his own since bursting on to the scene as a teenager towards the end of 2017. He remains one of the best attacking full-backs in the world and his technical skillset on the ball lends itself to that of a creative-minded central midfielder.
For all his achievements at club level in his career to date, including six major trophies and almost 300 Liverpool appearances, Alexander-Arnold has only played 23 times for England since his senior debut in 2018. It is partly the result of stiff competition in the country's strongest position, partly the result of his occasional defensive frailties.
But England boss Gareth Southgate appeared to find a solution in 2023, using Alexander-Arnold in midfield in four Euro 2024 qualifiers home and away against Malta and North Macedonia.
Alexander-Arnold said in December that becoming a midfielder is «probably the path and the route that I'm on», while Jurgen Klopp has softened his earlier reluctance – the Liverpool boss had already started using him as an inverted full-back stepping into midfield in the closing stages of last season.
The issue that remained for Liverpool was how they might replace Alexander-Arnold on the right-hand side of the defence. Other options until now haven’t really been suited to the role, with Joe Gomez a natural centre-back asked to cover out wide and lacking the attacking attributes.
Calvin Ramsay joined Liverpool from Aberdeen in
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