Liverpool hero John Aldridge has urged Arne Slot to drop Trent Alexander-Arnold for the Reds’ remaining games this season, and give Conor Bradley a chance to stake a claim to be his replacement.
Alexander-Arnold has of course announced his decision to leave Anfield this week, with the 26-year-old set to depart when his contract expires this summer. He could leave even earlier than that though, with Real Madrid having made an approach to sign him early in order for him to play in the Club World Cup.
Slot now faces a big decision on how he replaces his first-choice right-back, with Bradley looking like the obvious solution. Aldridge has already backed the Northern Ireland international to thrive after Alexander-Arnold’s exit, despite the concerns surrounding his injury problems over the last year or so.
The Liverpool boss also faces a tricky call now over whether to start Alexander-Arnold for the remainder of this season. With just three games left and the Premier League title already wrapped up, there is perhaps less pressure on the decision than there might have been.
It is still a difficult call though, especially with Bradley having suffered another knock that kept him out of the decisive game against Tottenham. Aldridge though believes Alexander-Arnold shouldn’t get a look-in now.
“I think in young Conor Bradley, we’ve got an ideal replacement. Let Trent go and enjoy his flaunt in Spain,” Aldridge wrote in his column for the Liverpool Echo.
“It’s a tough one for the manager now. The way I see it, Trent’s made his mind up. Bradley’s got to play all the games. You’ve got to be callous.
(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
“We’ve already won the league. It will be strange if Trent plays. I wouldn’t like to see him stick so I wouldn’t like to see him put in that position.
“So Conor Bradley’s got to play, he’s the future now. He has to start these three games, it’s as simple as that.”
Aldridge added: “It’s one thing I’ve always known as a Liverpool fan, the club goes on. Roger Hunt left and Kevin Keegan came in. Keegan left, Kenny Dalglish came in. Rushie came in. There are always other players that will come in and take your place.
“The one thing that worries you about Conor is he’s only a young lad and has been a little bit injury-prone. That’s the worry. Joe Gomez is cover but he’s injury-prone too. So it’s a big decision from Arne to decide what he does there.
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“Trent only got injured a little bit in his career to date. But if Conor stays fit, he’s going to be a super player.
“He’s a better defender than Trent, he’s a very good defender. And going forward, he’s really good. I actually think he’ll score more goals than Trent.
“But creativity, he’ll have to learn because Trent’s creativity was off the scale. The assists, the crosses, the passing, the balls into the box – the numbers speak for themselves. But he’s no mug, Bradley. He knows he’ll have to work to work at that side of the game.
“He can be a special player, I really believe that. He’ll run through walls for the manager and his team-mates. He doesn’t give up, he’s got a great attitude so give him a chance.”
