Frank Leboeuf, 1998 World Cup winner with France and former Chelsea defender, has claimed that Liverpool full back Trent Alexander-Arnold is only a ‘Championship-level’ defender.
Alexander-Arnold has emerged as one of English football’s brightest young stars in recent years, winning every domestic trophy available with Liverpool since 2019.
He has become known for his assists from out wide, but his defensive qualities have been called to question.
Leboeuf has now given his verdict stating that Alexander-Arnold’s defending is a major concern, and that this issue has only been covered up for so long due to the specific system that Jurgen Klopp plays at Liverpool.
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“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 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.
“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.”
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