Jamie Carragher names the player who's the closest Liverpool have to Kevin de Bruyne

By Sam Preston

Jamie Carragher has compared Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold to Manchester City talisman Kevin de Bruyne.

Carragher wrote in the Telegraph about the Reds now needing to give serious consideration to moving the Englishman into midfield.

After the midweek defeat to Real Madrid, Carragher said on CBS that Alexander-Arnold will struggle at right-back when Liverpool are less dominant in games.

He has now compared the defender’s passing to De Bruyne and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, as the Reds look ahead to a summer where they need a midfield rebuild.

Jamie Carragher compares Trent Alexander-Arnold to Kevin de Bruyne

He said: “I have no idea if Alexander-Arnold has ambitions to go back to where he started and play in midfield, Gareth Southgate tried it and was criticised in some quarters, including by Klopp. To me the move was understandable to try to get the most out of Alexander-Arnold in an England team with a completely different profile and mindset.

“In terms of his passing range, Alexander-Arnold is as good as anyone in Europe and the closest Liverpool have to Kevin De Bruyne or Steven Gerrard.

“Given how desperate Liverpool are for a creative midfielder, would turning him into a number eight so he can fill those areas to whip those extraordinary passes into the penalty area be such a radical move?

“With Stefan Bajčetić out for the season, would Klopp even consider it as an immediate measure? I am convinced Alexander-Arnold will return to midfield eventually, whether it is in his late twenties or early thirties. It does not matter how many medals a player has won, the best will always be looking at ways to get better.”

This debate about Alexander-Arnold’s best position has rumbled on for a number of years now, for both club and country.

He has not even been included in the most recent England squad, with Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Reece James preferred as right-back options.

Walker and Trippier are among the older members of the squad, so will be out of the picture in years to come, meaning Alexander-Arnold races an international battle with James at right-back.

But for club and country, there is a real opening for a technical midfielder of his quality, if he can adjust to the role, but that would be easier said than done.

Besides, it is not long ago that some were talking about Alexander-Arnold as reinventing the role of the full-back, so any long-term redeployment should be given serious thought.