Liverpool defender Trent Alexander Arnold is believe to be on the level of the Championship defender after questions about his defending ability arises.
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander Arnold has been labelled Championship standard by World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf.
Arnold is regarded as one of the brightest talents in the Premier League winning numerous trophies for the Reds.
The 23-year-old has become known for his assists from out wide, but his defensive qualities have been a major concern.
Leboeuf, who spoke about the right-back, stated that Alexander-Arnold’s defending needs to be questioned.
He believes that the issue of defending has only been covered up for so long due to the specific system that Jurgen Klopp plays at Liverpool.
“Look at Trent Alexander-Arnold. I love the guy, his offensive qualities. But defensively, he’s Championship level,” Leboeuf said in an interview with French newspaper Journal du Dimanche.
“Only [Jurgen] Klopp’s system works for him. When it doesn’t work as well as it has this season, all you see is his defensive shortcomings.”
Alexander-Arnold has had an underwhelming start to the season which has coincided with Liverpool dropping points in four of their opening six league matches.
He also appears to be some way down Gareth Southgate’s pecking order for England after failing to get on the pitch in the side’s latest defeat against Italy on Friday. Reece James and Kyle Walker were both picked ahead of him in Milan.
Leboeuf has admitted that he would like to speak to Alexander-Arnold personally to get him out of his slump, and has urged the defender to ‘work on the basics’ to rediscover his best form.
He continued: “I want to take him with me to work on the basics. I would say to him: ‘Turn your head and look behind you, it will be better already’.”
Time is running out for Alexander-Arnold to force his way into England’s starting XI before the World Cup gets underway in November.
He may get one final chance to impress against Germany at Wembley on Monday night, with that being the last game before Southgate names his squad for Qatar.
