‘We can really use that’ – Fabinho welcomes Trent Alexander-Arnold change of position

Brazilian duo Alisson and Fabinho have hailed Trent Alexander-Arnold’s recent performances in a more advanced role for Liverpool.

Alexander-Arnold has enjoyed greater positional freedom in the Reds’ last two games against Arsenal and Leeds, where he has played a hybrid role at both right-back and defensive midfield.

The transition hasn’t gone unnoticed by his peers and Fabinho is full of praise for how the 24-year-old has done the job.

“Trent is someone who is really good with the ball, with his quality of passing and finding players at the back. We can really use him,” Fabinho told the club’s official website. “Obviously in this position he will have less time to think, but I think he is a bit used to being in this position.

“In the last game he gave two assists and was really good – not only with his passing but also with his reaction.”

Fabinho’s compatriot Alisson also praised the performances, focusing more on the excellent defensive work done by Alexander-Arnold when the team were without the ball.

“That game [against Leeds] was a very good example of [defensive work] – the way we react,” Liverpool No.1 said.

“Not just Trent coming out of midfield and then going to the side, but other players who know we have a good reaction to counter-pressure or that we have to get back to their position to save time.

Fans have had a fascinating few weeks getting used to Alexander-Arnold spending more time in the middle of the park, but it certainly seems like a change his teammates will appreciate.

Questions remain as to whether this is likely to become a more permanent move or if some sort of crossover will continue for the time being, with Jurgen Klopp having said ‘the training suits us’.

The 24-year-old has registered three assists in games for Arsenal and Leeds, having provided just two in the entire Premier League campaign. The new formation clearly seems to allow Alexander-Arnold to express his creativity and could be a real weapon for the Reds in the future.

Also.. 

Why Liverpool has an academy “car clause” “You ought to have to work for it”

Opinions about young footballers doing too much too soon are well known. However, at Liverpool they have a ‘clause’ to ensure they can pass the first team audition.

Academic football is fierce and there are certainly no guarantees of success. But under Jürgen Klopp there is at least one known way.

There are many boxes a young player has to tick before he gets the chance to train with the club’s first team. And the Reds’ academy director is keen to ensure nothing trips them up on their journey, including the car they’re driving.

Liverpool are trying to keep their prospects on the pitch – and while this primarily affects their young professionals’ salaries, there is also a ‘car clause’ in place, as revealed by Alex Inglethorpe.

Inglethorpe, who became academy manager in 2014 after being promoted from his role as Under-21 manager, explained the reasons to Robbie Fowler during the club’s We Are Liverpool podcast.

“There’s a balance [to be had], isn’t there? What we’re doing now is players signing a ‘car clause’,” Inglethorpe explained of the cars youngsters drive players. “What you don’t want is for them to come in with a Range Rover.

“The reason you don’t want them to lead something too big, too big, too ambitious is because it’s not just the manager and staff who have an opinion on you, but also the senior players.

“If you think about James Milner, Jordan Henderson or Andy Robertson, the first cars they drove there would have been an element of humility.

“I use it in a presentation I do with the guys, I have their first cars.

“Firstly, you can’t enter a race that you will never win – and I don’t mean in the car, I just mean in terms of life. “You can’t think, ‘I’m a first-team player because I have a better car’.

“We could afford to pay them a bit more, but we don’t because I don’t think it’s fair.

“There’s something about delayed gratification rather than instant gratification, I think you should kinda earn it.

“The players know very well that if I don’t agree with their car, they can park it in David Lloyd’s car park, but it won’t be in the academy.

“I don’t want to be an idiot, I just don’t want them working 10 years for an audition and failing before they even set foot on the court. “I want them to be safe. There are a lot of choices based on safety and based on [being] a young player responsible for two tons of metal, you have to make sure that responsibility is something you take seriously.”

It is clear that Inglethorpe’s reasoning is rooted firstly in safety and secondly in a desire to see academy players make a lasting impression for all the right reasons after years of hard work.

It’s the little things that turn promising talent into first-team options.