Former West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce believes that critics of Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of his anticipated inclusion in England’s starting XI against Serbia ‘don’t know what they’re talking about’.
Several audiences have given an opposing point of view to Allardyce on Alexander-Arnold – namely, Roy Keane and Danny Mills, both of whom think that the Liverpool star will struggle with his positioning in the middle of the park.
Moreover, Allardyce also said that he expects him to be just as ‘effective’ as Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham, the two other players he is likely to occupy the midfield with.
Speaking to William Hill on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Allardyce claimed:
“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.
“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.”
