Former England and Everton defender Phil Jagielka believes Trent Alexander-Arnold is a must for Gareth Southgate and England at the World Cup in Qatar because he possesses the attacking 'x-factor' no one else in the squad has.
Alexander-Arnold, despite playing zero minutes for England during their Nations League fixtures over the past week, has once again become the epicentre of a country-wide debate as Southgate left the 23-year-old - along with four other players - out of his squad for the thrilling 3-3 draw with Germany on Monday evening.
The right-back, like James Ward-Prowse, Jarrod Bowen and Fikayo Tomori, faces an uphill battle to force his way into Southgate's plans for this winter's World Cup - with the England manager set to name the 26-man squad for the competition at the start of November.
READ MORE: FSG and Liverpool investor LeBron James part of group purchasing US team
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp's two words that still sum up Curtis Jones situation at Liverpool
And Jagielka, who won 40 caps for England during an eight-year international career, has given his verdict on the situation. Insisting that the 23-year-old West-Derby star offers England qualities in attack 'no one else in the squad brings'.
"That's a different option. When you go into a World Cup there are different types of games, different tempos of games and all sorts," said the former Everton captain, while speaking to Sky Sports. "For me, he brings something that maybe no one else, not only in his position but in the squad brings. Then you've got to realise who else you leave out to make space, so it's a really difficult one. I think Gareth will be hoping there's a 40-man squad so he can choose everyone!
"Liverpool haven't had the best of starts so the English [Liverpool] players have come under scrutiny again, and unfortunately for Trent, he's getting that little bit of stick. Whether rightly or wrongly so."
While the former Sheffield United and Derby County man spoke of his sympathy with the difficulties of Southgate's task in narrowing a talented generation of players down to just 26, he believes the uncertainty of an international tournament could allow Alexander-Arnold to become a star if England needs an injection of attacking quality in the final third.
"I think in a tournament there are times when you're going to win games easily and times when you're going to be struggling to create things, he [Trent] gives you that something special. Something out of the blue," Jagielka added.
"Whether you would need it or not in a tournament depends on how it goes. But for me, if you want to call it the 'x-factor', his assists speak for themselves. I wouldn't put him on to shore up the defence, that's not what he brings. He's attacking-minded and he will create chances."
Alexander-Arnold's hopes of playing a significant part in the maiden winter edition of the World Cup were delivered a further blow when, following the draw to Germany, Southgate disclosed the motivation behind omitting the defender from his 23-man squad.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Southgate said: “The other night [in Italy], we didn’t need the left-back cover, but against Germany we did because of the way we went with the team so we needed Chilly [Ben Chilwell] on the bench and we had Kieran who, at the moment, I feel his all-round game is ahead [of Trent]."
He added: “I didn’t want any player to sit in the stand for two matches, so I think the way we manage a group of people has been a big strength for us in the tournaments and we need to do that.”
READ MORE:
-
Jurgen Klopp set for huge Liverpool squad boost as Youri Tielemans message speaks volumes
-
Liverpool legend was denied manager's job after emotional Bill Shankly tribute
-
Liverpool receive major injury boost as Ibrahima Konate update issued
- Jaap Stam sets record straight on what happened in dressing room vs Liverpool
-
Luis Suarez has just shown Liverpool how to get the best out of Darwin Nunez
