Zak Anderton

Sat 27 July 2024 8:10, UK

Trent Alexander-Arnold is undoubtedly one of the best attackers within the Liverpool squad.

The Liverpool-born defender has an unbelievable range of passing and is quite often a key cog in the Reds’ attacks.

Throughout the 2023/24 campaign, however, Liverpool were without the defender for large chunks of the season.

This resulted in Conor Bradley being called up to the first-team squad and although not much was expected of him, he outshone a lot of his peers when on the pitch.

The fact that he managed to hold his own against Premier League opponents shows how strong his overall game is and how valuable of an asset he could be to Arne Slot this season.

However, as Alexander-Arnold is also deployed in the same position, some adjustments will have to be made.

But, looking ahead, this could be the change that the Reds need in order to unlock the full attacking potential of the 25-year-old.

Conor Bradley could be a key component for Arne Slot next season

Due to the stellar form that the Northern Ireland international showed when called upon last season, Bradley really staked his claim for a starting role in Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

He played 23 times and managed to contribute to a total of seven goals during his first-team stint.

In the Premier League alone, Bradley made an average of three tackles per game and recovered a total of 4.5 balls, according to Sofascore.

Attacking-wise Bradley managed to outperform his xA of 1.19 by almost triple as he managed to register a total of three assists in the top flight.

In terms of key passes, the right-back made an average of 1.4 per game and managed to sustain a total of 11.9 accurate own-half passes per game with 86 per cent of those attempted in his own half getting where they were intended to go.

Defensively, Bradley was also fairly strong. He was only dribbled past 1.3 times per game and made no errors that led to shots or goals.

These statistics not only show how strong of a talent the Reds have within their ranks but also outline why the defender has a genuine claim to start the game.

However, if Bradley starts, this would mean that Alexander-Arnold would have to be moved further up the pitch into midfield.

Trent Alexander-Arnold Euro 2024 performance in numbers

Regarding Alexander-Arnold’s midfield capabilities, he was entrusted with a starting role for Gareth Southgate’s England in Euro 2024.

While he was eventually replaced in the role as the tournament went on, throughout the four games he played, he was among England’s most creative players.

As per Sofascore, he averaged a total of one shot per game, while also managing to create one big chance during the tournament in Germany.

Throughout the games he played, the defender managed to record a pass accuracy of 86 per cent across the entirety of the tournament nd 75 per cent of his long balls were also on target.

His heatmap for the tournament shows the amount of ground he managed to cover and even though his favoured right-hand side was still prominent in his game, he managed to get much further up the pitch than he would usually do with Liverpool.

This sort of passing range could prove vital for Slot next season and thanks to the breakout season Bradley has last term, there’s no reason why an experiment or two couldn’t’t be had across the season.

The addition of the 25-year-old in the midfield would also help alleviate some pressure from the likes of Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic next term.

One thing is for sure, the Reds won’t want to lose the defender upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

This means that they will have to prove that the club and the defender have their plans for the future aligned with one another.

Should Slot experiment with the Merseyside club this season, using Bradley in the right-back role and Alexander-Arnold in midfield could be the exact sort of attacking boost that they need.

In other Liverpool news, the Reds are reportedly in the final stages of a deal for Takefusa Kubo.

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