Jurgen Klopp has revealed Liverpool’s summer recruitment will determine whether Trent Alexander-Arnold will continue in his new position in the long-term.
Since Jurgen Klopp tweaked Alexander-Arnold's position ahead of the draw with Arsenal, Liverpool's performance levels have spiked. In addition to the England international impressing, the Reds have also gone unbeaten since the change.
Alexander-Arnold, who normally operates as a right-back, has been handed more positional freedom in Liverpool’s recent games, drifting into midfield and looking to get on the ball as much as possible.
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Liverpool moved a point behind Manchester United in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Brentford at Anfield on Saturday evening, and against Thomas Frank’s side, Alexander-Arnold had more touches than any other player and completed the most passes than anyone on the pitch.
Another impressive display led to Klopp being asked about the likelihood of Alexander-Arnold remaining in the position, and while the Liverpool boss believes the new role suits the England international, he revealed his summer recruitment will guide the call.
“If it is long term we will see it just depends on the new players that we bring in,” he told Sky Sports post-match.
“It suits him extremely well and I think the chance he set up for Darwin (Nunez) was special and he was strong defensively and he still has to adapt to his role in this formation.
“We were a bit passive in the last game, but apart from that Trent has played almost every minute in the past six games in an intense period with games every three days, and with that it is outstanding with what he is doing.”
As reported by the ECHO last month, Liverpool had stepped away from their pursuit of Bellingham after the scale of their required summer midfield overhaul became glaringly apparent.
The Reds had made Bellingham a high-priority transfer target for much of the season, with Klopp a long-time admirer of the 19-year-old's talent. However, Borussia Dortmund have slapped a price tag in excess of £100 on the England international.
Reds boss Klopp and the club’s recruitment team have determined they would be better served spreading the cash on several signings rather than committing the majority to one big-money arrival.
Liverpool's list of potential targets is lengthy as work continues behind the scenes. Chelsea duo Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher are understood to be players of interest, along with Brighton pair Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo. Links have also emerged connecting the Reds with Sporting Lisbon's Manuel Ugarte and Florentino Luis of Benfica.
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