During his news conference, Jurgen Klopp, the manager of Liverpool, refused to address Trent Alexander-Arnold’s status.
Jurgen Klopp has played down the prospect of moving Trent Alexander-Arnold into a central midfield role, declaring his unhappiness with “unpleasant” attempts to “create headlines” around the Liverpool star.
Alexander-Arnold moved from a right-back slot into a more hybrid position back in April and the tactical tweak, which was aimed at getting him on the ball more in central areas of the pitch, has helped the Reds establish a run that has seen them lost just two of the last 32 matches across all competitions.
Alexander-Arnold scored the winning goal in the 4-3 win over Fulham on Sunday eight days after his equaliser secured a draw at Premier League champions Manchester City and the defender played the final moments of the weekend’s victory as a midfielder with Joe Gomez at right-back
Asked how he sees the long-term development of Alexander-Arnold’s position, Klopp steered clear of declaring it will be in midfield and says the plan is to ensure the versatile vice-captain is as influential as possible, wherever he is deployed.
“It’s just about us and what we have available,” Klopp said. “Is Joe Gomez there? Is Conor Bradley there? If they are both there one of them might have to play at left-back because Kostas (Tsimikas) cannot play all the games but yes, Trent can play in midfield.
“We have always known that but Trent can play the role we have given him now very well as well, so we will see. That is it. If we want to be good he has to be influential from all different areas. If he plays a good game, he obviously did in the last game and that is it pretty much.
“It is always this unpleasant [thing] that tries to create headlines. If you want to discuss it, discuss but without my [input]. We play him where we think it is best for him and he became one of the most successful players in the recent history of Liverpool FC playing as a right-back and he became a Premier League player as a right-back.
“Can he play more inside? Definitely, but as I say, we will play him wherever is best for us and I am not stubborn and don’t want to play him in midfield, not at all. I am not a part of this discussion.
“You can discuss it as much as you want but it won’t have any influence. We still have to make decisions for what is best for us and the team. And Trent sees it, by the way, the same and he has to play. From my point of view he has to be influential and we have to make sure we can help him with the positioning, that is it.”
Klopp also described Mohamed Salah as “an all-time great” ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Sheffield United.
The Egyptian, who has 10 Premier League goals this term, picked up his sixth assist of the campaign with his lay-off for Wataru Endo against Fulham and the Reds boss was fulsome in his praise when asked where Salah rated in the pantheon of great players he has managed.
Klopp added: “He is right up there, that is 100%. A player with his numbers I am not sure I will ever coach again, that is just the way it is. His development from the first talks we had to the ones we have now as a man is incredibly impressive. His development and growth as a player as well is exceptional.
“He is an all-time great without a shadow of a doubt. I was blessed to have a few good ones to be honest but like I said he is right up there and the numbers are super special.”
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