Jurgen Klopp’s right hand man Pep Lijnders has revealed he believes Trent Alexander-Arnold will be a future Liverpool captain and that he has the ‘characteristics’ to fulfil the role.
The England international has been at the club since he was 6 years-old and has made 226 appearances for the first-team since making his debut in 2016.
In his time at Anfield he has been a key part of Liverpool’s Premier League and Champions League winning campaigns and at the young age of 23 he still has a lot more to give.
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Last season, Trent was voted into Liverpool’s ‘leadership committee’ and Lijnders expressed his delight in his new book ‘intensity’:
“There were three spots left behind our captain Hendo, vice-captain Milner and leader Virgil.”
“I was delighted to discover that Trent was in! Our future captain was a step closer – he should now stay close to Milner to learn as much as possible during this year because it’s the next step in his development."
"Robbo and Ali were the other two to make the players’ committee.”
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Trent was a part of Pep Lijnders under-16 Liverpool team and was assigned as captain by the Dutchman, who has been able to watch the 23 year-old develop into a world class player throughout his career.
“Even at the age of 15, he was this natural technical talent,” Said Lijnders.
“He had all the characteristics I loved: a mentality to win, passionate to improve – but his emotions sometimes took control instead of him taking control over the emotions.
“He trained with so much power and competition. He grew step-by-step into the wonderful guy he is now, surrounded by a lovely family, he created this superb personality.
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“He has this aggression in a positive way. If someone represents this quote of Bill Shankly, it’s him: ‘Playing at the highest level isn’t pressure, it’s a reward’.”
Topics: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool