Jurgen Klopp torn into by Sam Allardyce over Liverpool failure that Arne Slot's inheriting

Sam Allardyce believes Trent Alexander-Arnold was let down by Jurgen Klopp during his time in charge of Liverpool. The former Reds manager stepped down at the end of last season after nine years at the helm and has been replaced by Arne Slot.

Allardyce said he rates Alexander-Arnold highly but could not understand why his defending failed to improve under Klopp’s guidance. However, he added that he is expecting the 25-year-old to shine for England at the Euros if he partners Declan Rice in midfield.

Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Allardyce said: “Trent Alexander-Arnold’s weakest point is his defending. It is difficult to understand that Jurgen Klopp was at Liverpool for so long and we still haven’t seen his defending get any better.

“When Liverpool had a tough time with injuries, he got exposed more than ever. He is a fantastic player and he’s brilliant on the ball. He can thread a 60-yard pass as well as anyone else can play a ball 20 yards, that’s how good his passing is.

“In the three-year period where Liverpool were winning the Premier League and Champions League he hardly ever had to defend. That part of his game never really got exposed until they got a lot of injuries and started losing games.

“He got slaughtered for his defending but it looks like he’s overcome that due to the fact that he can also play in midfield. People will say that he won’t be as effective as Declan Rice or Jude Bellingham in midfield, but they don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Alexander-Arnold is expected to start in midfield when England take on Serbia in their opening group stage match on Sunday. It will see Kyle Walker continue at right-back, while Kieran Tripper is set to deputise on the left with Luke Shaw still working his way back to full fitness.

England boss Gareth Southgate recently hinted that Alexander-Arnold was being lined up for a midfield role, saying: “He has had a difficult international career in that because of the strength in depth in the [right-back] area, we haven’t always been able to give him the amount of football that his talent deserves.

“We have always been trying to find a way to do that and I think he knows that and he appreciates that so it was lovely to see him score [against Bosnia and Herzegovina], have that moment and play with that confidence for England. We were very pleased.

“It is a role he is discovering and he is hungry to learn and has been since I talked to him about playing it a year or so ago and equally what we saw in the last half an hour is also an important option for us as well.

“We are going to have different challenges in this tournament and we are going to have to have different ways of solving problems that teams pose us.”