Steve McManaman: Now’s not the time to change Trent Alexander-Arnold into a central-midfielder

After a match-winning goal against Fulham on Sunday, the calls for Jürgen Klopp to start deploying Trent Alexander-Arnold in Liverpool’s midfield intensified. Steve McManaman, an FA Cup and League Cup winner with Liverpool in the 90’s, believes that despite being a “wonderful midfielder”, Trent should continue in the role of right-back as he’s the best in that position for his club. McManaman also spoke to Betfred regarding the Premier League title race, interest in Xabi Alonso and the pressure growing on Erik ten Hag at Manchester United.

Do you believe the display Liverpool put in against Fulham on Sunday was the ‘hallmark of champions’?

“Not really, but a victory like that didn’t surprise me. If you watched the game, Liverpool almost needed to go 3-2 down to shake them up because at 2-2 they created a couple of chances, but after Marco Silva made those positive changes for Fulham, he clearly knew that they could score again and they did. The crowd then reacted, the players reacted to their response and the team jumped into gear again. 

“In all due respect to Fulham, because they played really well, but it was a game that Liverpool should be winning at Anfield. The nature of them scoring two late goals made the game more exciting and when it was 3-3, you were expecting them to score again but possibly not as quickly as they did. That fightback was largely due to the nature of Anfield and the nature of the crowd.”

You’ve previously mentioned in an interview with us that you’d prefer Trent Alexander-Arnold to stay at right-back rather than move into centre-midfield. However, after recent performances, have you changed your mind?

“It’s not necessarily that I believe he’s a better right-back than he would be a central-midfielder, but at the moment it suits Liverpool to play him at right-back because when they dominate a game he can move into midfield and play two positions at once if the team needs him to. 

“Hypothetically, if Liverpool are struggling in midfield and had four or five injuries, then of course he can go and play in central-midfielder and Joe Gomez can play right-back. Trent’s a wonderful midfielder but if Liverpool have 60%-70% possession, then that allows him to move from right-back into central-midfield because the team is in control of the game. 

“I don’t believe it’s necessary to pigeonhole him as a midfielder yet because Liverpool have already got six or seven midfielders and he’s great in both positions. He’s a better right-back than Joe Gomez, so if you can continue to play him there, then he can play in the centre of midfield at the same time when Liverpool are expected to dominate games, especially against lesser opposition. 

“Against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, they got exploited down that left-hand side because they were playing against the best team in Europe. Against the likes of Fulham or Sheffield United for instance, Trent can start at right-back, see what they’re going to do, see if they’re playing with a left-winger and when Liverpool have the ball further up the field, then Trent can come into the midfield of the park when they’re pushing the opposition back.”

Despite his lack of goals in recent times, do you believe Darwin Núñez is capable of becoming one of the Premier League’s best centre-forwards?

“That’s what we’re all hoping for, but he needs to start scoring more often and he needs to stop missing chances. He’s still relatively new to the club and deserves time to fully settle in, but to be considered as one of the top forwards in the Premier League and in Europe, you have to be more consistent in front of goal and the numbers need to start increasing.

“It’s clear to all that he works very hard and at the moment I’m not necessarily concerned about his number of goals because Liverpool already have five forwards and as long as they’re scoring goals as a collective and winning games, then that’s all I’m concerned about and thankfully, they’re doing both. 

“Some players need to start all the time and play all the time, every single week. Once Darwin is doing that, his numbers will improve and I have no doubt about that. At the moment, when he misses a chance, everybody comments on it. He needs to start putting more of his chances away for that to stop. His conversion rate needs improvement if he’s going to turn things around.”

After all the debate on Sky Sports after Manchester City’s 3-3 draw with Tottenham, with pundits claiming that there could be something ‘wrong’ with Pep Guardiola’s side this season, are you now expecting Manchester City to go on a winning run at some point in the near future?

“Yes, of course. You’ve got to remember that they’re missing Kevin De Bruyne through injury, İlkay Gündoğan left in the summer and I know they’ve brought Mateo Kovačić and Matheus Nunes in, but losing two midfielders of their quality is obviously going to affect you.

“They’ve never worried about where they are in the table in December have they? The fact that they’re near the top means that they’re on course to win the Premier League title again. They’ve had a couple of dodgy results this season, but every team has a few of them over the course of an entire campaign.”

Do you believe Manchester City could slip up away to Aston Villa this evening?

“I know that Rodri’s suspended, but there’s every chance they can slip up away to Aston Villa, with or without him, because Villa have been in such good form at home this season and Unai Emery is doing a really good job at the helm.  

“It’s certainly a more difficult game for Manchester City without Rodri because he’s their metronome in midfield and I believe he’s an incredible footballer. The game is a potential banana skin for them, but so is every game when you have a run of Liverpool, RB Leipzig, Tottenham and now Aston Villa. Liverpool dropped points away at Luton, so if you’re playing Tuesday, Saturday, Wednesday and travelling around Europe, picking up suspensions and injuries, then all these games become really difficult. It goes without saying that midweek fixtures away from home are particularly difficult.” 

Are you expecting Sheffield United to pose Liverpool a threat this evening?

“With Chris Wilder in charge, you expect there to be an extra bounce. The fans all know how he likes his teams to play and there will be a reaction from the crowd because it’s Liverpool, so I expect a significant bounce. 

“They’re going to be missing Oli McBurnie through suspension, so I’m not sure what team they’re going to put out, but I expect that Chris Wilder will want some sort of reaction straight away and I believe the crowd will give him that.”

Do you believe Arsenal are better equipped to handle themselves in the title race this year?

“They’ll be better equipped in terms of experience. They got to where they did last season and were very good but this season, it all depends on whether their squad is deep enough to contend with injuries when they arise as the season progresses. 

“Last season they were knocked out of the Europa League relatively early by Sporting Lisbon, so their fixture list wasn’t too crammed at the backend of the campaign. However in this current season, they will want to go as far as they possibly can in the Champions League and that will add more toil to the player’s bodies. If you think about the season as a whole package, not just the Premier League, then there’s an awful lot of games to play and as they will want to win the Premier League and the Champions League, the run-in this season is going to be extra hard for them. They also have the FA Cup to contend with as well, so it’s all going to depend on whether they can cope with the toil of playing so many games in a short space of time. 

“If they get knocked out of every other competition fairly early and they can focus solely on winning the Premier League title, then they could really, really challenge. The Champions League really heats up in March and April when the Premier League is coming towards its end as well, so it all depends on whether they can go deep into all those competitions with the squad they have.”

As we know of your work in academy football, did you ever come across Leeds United’s Archie Gray before he was given his opportunity this season in Leeds’ first-team? He was recently linked with a shock £40m to £50m to Liverpool and in your opinion, is he a future superstar?

“He’s a player with a history in regards to his footballing heritage and he’s a brilliant talent, but when you’re talking about £40 million to £50 million for a 17-year-old, then I believe those rumours are a bit far-fetched at this moment in time. 

“If you look at Liverpool’s academy, they’re already blessed with loads and loads of really talented kids, which is the same for many other academies. I believe Liverpool being linked with a big money move for him is just paper talk if I’m being honest, but Archie’s certainly an extremely promising kid.”

Premier League trio Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City all reportedly have an interest in Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz. Luiz can either be deployed as a central midfielder or in that number six position, so from Liverpool’s perspective, could he be a suitable solution for them considering that Alexis Mac Allister is having to fill that role currently?

“I believe Liverpool will be looking elsewhere. He’s doing very well under Unai Emery at this moment in time and he’s had a lot more success working with him than he did with Steven [Gerrard]. I think he’s better off staying at Aston Villa and being part of a group that are trying to get them into the Champions League.

“I still believe that Liverpool are searching for a proper ‘number six’. I know they bought [Wataru] Endō, [Alexis] Mac Allister, [Dominik] Szoboszlai and [Ryan] Gravenberch in the summer, but I believe the latter three in particular would prefer to play further forward. Liverpool will be looking to buy in that area to make them a little bit stronger.”

Do you believe Liverpool need to make signings in the January transfer window and if so, in what areas?

“It’s always nice to buy in January if you can, but it would have to be an exceptional deal in Liverpool’s case. Diogo Jota is out currently, but they still have four forwards at this moment in time. They have a lot of midfielders in their squad and they still have both Thiago Alcântara and Stefan Bajcetic to come back from injury. In defence, Andy Robertson’s out, so if something happened to [Konstantinos] Tsimikas, then maybe they could make an addition in that area, but they have Conor Bradley and Luke Chambers who can fill that void in the short-term. That’s what academies are supposed to be there for. 

“For all those reasons, I wouldn’t say that Liverpool need to sign anybody in January. If they did decide to make one, then I don’t imagine it would be a long-term signing. I only believe an incoming transfer could happen if the centre of defence suffers a few more injuries considering that Joël Matip is already out. I think they will be fine from now until the end of the season and I’m sure they’ll buy again in the summer transfer window when more long-term options will be available.”

Your former club Manchester City are said to be keen on signing Chelsea captain Reece James as a potential long-term successor for Kyle Walker. Do you believe Reece would be interested in a move to the Etihad considering that he was only handed the Chelsea captaincy in the summer?

“Not now. Maybe in a few years, but not now that he’s been made Chelsea’s captain, he’s signed a new long-term contract and he’s going to be pivotal to the club’s long-term plan. I believe there’s no chance of this move happening in the near future and you can’t really speculate about things that can be years down the line.” 

Raphaël Varane is being linked with a January move from Manchester United. As a former player of Real Madrid that watched him extensively during his time at the Santiago Bernabéu, are you shocked that his move to Old Trafford hasn’t worked out in the way that everybody expected?

“I’m not particularly shocked because Manchester United are a bit of a mess at the moment. Due to the stature of the club and who they are, everybody’s been through the ringer really because of their results. 

“When Raphaël first came to the club, I thought it was a great signing, and I thought the same about Casemiro, because they were better than what Manchester United already had. People talk about their transfer fees and wages, but that doesn’t matter because the club can afford to pay that. You can list ten players at Manchester United who are really struggling under this manager, not just one, but it’s a surprise that the team is struggling considering all the money they’ve spent.”

After reports on Monday suggested that Erik ten Hag has “lost 50% of the dressing room” at Manchester United, if there’s any truth to these reports, do you believe the players are to blame or the manager? 

“I think both parties are to blame. The players finished second in the league under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and they’ve invested heavily in the transfer market since then. The players they’ve brought in have not been up to the standard expected. 

“This year they’ve had a lot of injuries and it goes without saying that many of their key players are injured, so you have to stick up for them there. I said the same thing about Liverpool last season and I will say the same about any other club if they were in the midst of an injury crisis. If you have five key players missing from your team, it will impact your team and this is what’s happened to Manchester United this year. 

“Besides the injuries, there’s something fundamentally wrong with the signings they’ve made, the people who’ve signed them and the players themselves as they’re not performing to their best ability on the pitch.

“A number of players seem to be butting heads with the manager and Erik ten Hag has had problems with Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and a few others. There appears to be a lot of problems across different operations within the whole organisation and they need ironing out very quickly. I wouldn’t necessarily blame it on one particular reason.

“The money’s been there to spend. The owners have received a lot of criticism, but they put money into the club to buy players and the money has been spent on players but the players who have been brought in (by whoever’s responsible for their dealings, I don’t know who they are)  haven’t performed well enough.

“They’ve had a lot of injuries and the manager is now arguing with a lot of people. The spectre of David de Gea walking out one door and André Onana, who’s struggling a lot at the minute, coming through another, is another decision that’s been questioned. The people that make these decisions have to be held accountable and it’s as simple as that in football unfortunately.”

With Carlo Ancelotti rumoured to become Brazil manager at the end of the season, Real Madrid are reportedly interested in making an approach for Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi. Do you believe Roberto is ready to make such a huge jump?

“Firstly, I spoke to someone at Real Madrid recently and they told me that the Carlo Ancelotti to Brazil link was a load of fiction. Nobody has ever mentioned anything about Brazil to Carlo and Carlo has never mentioned anything about Brazil to the staff. If Carlo goes and wins the Champions League and La Liga this season, then he’ll probably stay.

“I think it would be a big jump for Roberto de Zerbi to go from winning nothing with Brighton to becoming the manager of Real Madrid. Is he ready? Possibly. Everybody likes the way he plays, but I think we will have to wait and see. Personally, I think it’s far too early to speak about him as a potential Real Madrid manager when Brighton are currently 8th in the Premier League. 

“I think that Real Madrid are more likely to be looking at Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen than Roberto de Zerbi at this moment in time.” 

So do you believe Xabi Alonso could be the next Real Madrid manager?

“Xabi is doing really well at the moment. He’s an ex-Real Madrid player and he knows the club inside out. He’s got history with the club and he’s progressed into management where he’s taken Bayer Leverkusen from the realms of the relegation zone last year to the top of the Bundesliga this year and they’re yet to lose a game this season.

“Real Madrid will cast their net wide and look at managers that play the right style of football, but I think Xabi at this moment in time is catching the eye more than anybody else. 

“I know that Bayern Munich are very interested in him as well because Thomas Tuchel’s reputation there isn’t amazing. You never know what might happen, but I just know that there’s interest in Xabi.

“He may personally want the Liverpool job and wait an extra year to see if that position becomes available. It all depends on how happy his ex-club’s are with their managers at this moment in time.

“Liverpool are incredibly happy with Jürgen Klopp and after speaking to people at Real Madrid, I know they’re very happy with Carlo despite the rumours. If anything, it’s probably Bayern Munich who are showing the most interest in Xabi.”

What are your thoughts on the proposals to ban incoming loan deals between associated teams being defeated?

“I haven’t got a problem with it at the moment, but I think the more that multi-club ownership comes along, then it may become an issue further down the line. I think we’re only worried about it because it’s Newcastle United and the PIF. The deal with Rúben Neves doesn’t scare me at all. If Newcastle United wants to bring Rúben Neves in on loan, if someone wants to bring in Lionel Messi on loan, then I have no problem with that.

“Watford are tied to Udinese, Manchester City are tied to various clubs via the City Football Group and that doesn’t bother me either. The only time that people have kicked off is when they’re thinking of Newcastle United and Saudi Arabia because that’s the only example that anybody gives. 

“Right now, I don’t think there’s that much going on to scare other clubs, but it may become a problem down the line when more teams buy up other teams, which seems to be the way that many other football clubs are going, but at this moment in time, it’s fine.”

Steve Cooper is reportedly under pressure at Nottingham Forest with the club’s owners reportedly frustrated at recent results. They only have three wins in the Premier League this season, so do you believe those frustrations are justified?

“I personally really like Steve Cooper, I really do, and I think it would be a very harsh decision to sack him. I understand the business of football, the ownership at Nottingham Forest and I know what Evangelos Marinakis has been like with managers at Olympiacos.

“It would be very harsh to get rid of Steve considering everything he’s done for Nottingham Forest. When you take into account how he got them up from where they were initially at the bottom of the Championship, to dealing with the turnover of players last year to keep them in the Premier League, then it would ultimately be quite ruthless. If the league was to finish tomorrow, then they would be fine again.

“It’s small steps in the Premier League when you have to invest money, change the team over and sell decent players like they did this summer to allow them to bring other players in. You just need to give him time to adjust to his team. 

“They were unlucky against Brighton and they could have easily had a penalty against Everton. I think they’re fine at the moment, but unfortunately there are always going to be rumours about your job when you’re in that ownership model because of the people who run the club.

“I don’t like managers being sacked at all, especially if it’s just a knee jerk reaction, so I really hope they stick with Steve Cooper.”