Tim Sherwood has labelled recent criticism of Trent Alexander-Arnold as ‘really harsh’.
The Liverpool defender was far from his best during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Anfield and is approaching the final few months of his current Reds deal.
Alexander-Arnold is out of contract at the end of the season and is yet to agree on terms over a fresh deal and the full-back is attracting huge interest from Real Madrid.
The England international gave away possession moments before United went 1-0 up at the weekend and looked disinterested throughout, but Sherwood believes critics should instead focus on the positive side of the defender’s game.
“I think the criticism of Trent Alexander-Arnold recently has been really harsh,” he told Lucky Block (as quoted by GOAL). “He wasn’t at his best against Manchester United on Sunday, but I hate it when people talk about him as a right-back because he’s not a proper defender – he’s a provider of goals and assists at the other end of the pitch.
“He’s got the best passing range of anyone in the Premier League, even the likes of Kevin De Bruyne. He’s up there with the best we’ve ever seen at passing in the competition’s history, like David Beckham when he gets it on the right-hand side. The timing and weight of his passing is just sublime, so I think we sometimes overlook the positives that he offers and focus on the negatives.”
The Spanish giants are ‘confident’ they can lure the Scouser to the Bernabeu but Sherwood believes our No. 66 is still focussed on helping Liverpool achieve all they can this term.
“It wasn’t his best game last weekend, but I don’t think his head is in Madrid – it’s at Liverpool. If he were to leave the club then it will be in the summer, and I think he will want to leave on a high with a couple of trophies in the bag this season.”
We’re all aware of how good Alexander-Arnold is in an attacking sense. He’s got the most assists for a defender in Premier League history and has unlocked defences consistently since making his Liverpool debut in 2016.
There’s no denying that we’re a better side going forward with him in the XI, but it also can’t be ignored that the defensive side of his game requires improvement.
Conor Bradley won more duels in five minutes against Ruben Amorim’s side at the weekend than Trent did all game.
The lack of clarity regarding the Englishman’s future is starting to frustrate many supporters – the hope is that it doesn’t start to seriously affect our performances on the pitch.
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