Darren Bent has suggested his one concern regarding one Liverpool star, claiming that it would be an absolute travesty if it comes to fruition over the next few weeks.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of the players very much pushing to start for England at Euro 2024, with the 25-year-old able to play at right-back or central midfield in Germany.
Alexander-Arnold does divide opinion, as while he is an outstanding player on the ball, he does come in for a lot of criticism due to the limitations with his defending.
Interestingly, Wayne Rooney claimed this week that while he loves Alexander-Arnold, he would have the Liverpool star nowhere near the midfield this summer.
Darren Bent fears what may happen with Trent Alexander-Arnold at Euro 2024
It is certainly one of the most intriguing decisions Southgate is going to make over the next few days: whether he picks Alexander-Arnold in the starting lineup, and where he uses him if he is in the side.
Speaking on talkSPORT in the wake of Rooney’s comments, Darren Bent has insisted that there is absolutely no way that Alexander-Arnold should be left out.
“You’ve got to get him in somewhere; another thing that’s come into my mind a little bit is the Kyle Walker situation and he has to go in centre half because of the injuries potentially we’ve got there and then Trent goes in at right-back,” he said.
It does just feel like an absolute travesty, because we talk about Phil Foden and the qualities he’s got and the way he can accept the ball on the half turn, he can make things happen; we’ve got nobody in the entire squad who can pass a ball like Trent can.”
Group-stages may present opportunity to experiment
It is not ideal, but England should enough quality to get out of their group while also taking a couple of risks with their team selection, and thus, picking Alexander-Arnold in the middle of the park could make a lot of sense.
Declan Rice is one of the most versatile midfielders in the Premier League, given his ability to play as a holding midfielder or as more of a number eight. And so, Alexander-Arnold should have the freedom to pull the strings – in the way that perhaps only he can.