ESPN pundit Alejandro Moreno insisted Trent Alexander-Arnold couldn’t be Liverpool’s most valuable player as he believes Jurgen Klopp had to hide him today protect him defensively .
Moreno was speaking on ESPN after journalist Sam Tighe ranked the England international third on his own list of Liverpool’s most important players this season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to divide many opinions. Last season was very difficult for the 25-year-old as he seemed to receive endless criticism for his defensive shortcomings.
This could explain why Tighe placed Alexander-Arnold third on the list behind Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker.
Moreno was clearly stunned by how high Alexander-Arnold had found himself. And he insisted there was no way the academy graduate could be considered the third most valuable player.
“The point about Trent is this: Jurgen Klopp had to find him a place on the pitch to hide him. So he is not exposed defensively. If there’s a player you have to hide on the pitch, he can’t be your most valuable player,” he told ESPN.
“The reason Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn’t play right-back for Liverpool is because he’s terrible defensively. So they had to find a different way to play for him.
Jurgen Klopp is right to exploit the Liverpool star’s strengths
Moreno is extremely unfair in his comments towards Alexander-Arnold. Yes, he is not the best defender. And some of the mistakes he made, especially last season, would have resulted in many players being released much sooner.
However, he is absolutely world class going forward. It is almost laughable to suggest that Jürgen Klopp is hiding Alexander-Arnold rather than working on a way to exploit his strengths.
If he felt the need to hide, Klopp wouldn’t have worked so hard to get him into the team. It would just be easier to abandon it altogether.
He is no different than a coach who moves a player in attack to find the best position for him. If there was a way to keep Alexander-Arnold on your team, why wouldn’t you do everything you could to make that happen?
