England family feuds speak volumes amid Trent Alexander-Arnold debate

Even before a ball was kicked, you just knew that Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold was going to come under more scrutiny as a result of the decision to play him in midfield.

Roy Keane and Gary Neville stuck the boot into his defending before the latter at least acknowledged his quality in possession, with the common trope that Alexander-Arnold is weak defensively continually overplayed. He isn't perfect, but neither are Kieran Trippier or Kyle Walker, who get only an ounce of the same attention.

The argument that he is so bad defensively that there is no other option but to put him in midfield makes about as much sense as the rest of the England plan. By moving Alexander-Arnold inside, he still has to defend — just in a different location — but has less space on the ball to pick his passes.

READ MORE: Liverpool may have to act quickly as Manchester United 'makes initial contact' for transfer

READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news LIVE: Jamal Musiala interest, Nico Williams statement, Arda Guler 'loan'

According to The Independent, there is tension in the England camp about Gareth Southgate's team selection. The report alleges that some relatives of England players fear the manager has already made 'commitments' to certain players, and isn't picking his team on merit.

That could explain why Kieran Trippier, after a relatively poor season for Newcastle United, finds himself in the team but out of position. Harry Kane has been isolated so far and Phil Foden being marooned out on the left smacks of a square peg in a round hole. It isn't quite Paul Scholes playing on the wing but it isn't getting the best out of the best Premier League player of last year.

England lacks intensity, isn't pressing, and hasn't looked particularly creative despite having Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka also making up its front four in attack. There is a complete lack of balance in the starting XI that is holding the players back; it is one thing having the best squad on paper and another on the grass.

It's all being lined up for England to make an early exit (earlier than planned, at least) and for someone to be the scapegoat. This will be Southgate's last tournament whether he is a success or a failure, in all likelihood, but Alexander-Arnold — much discussed even before he kicked a ball let alone now things have started to go wrong — will no doubt come under yet more scrutiny.

Given that he is one of the world's best right-backs suddenly being played in a new role without much in the way of training for it, it doesn't seem particularly fair to lay the blame at his door.

If it is true that the players' families are unsure about Southgate's team selection, though, there is no one more impacted by playing out of position than the Liverpool number 66. Alexander-Arnold hasn't played full-time in midfield since he was a youth player and yet is now being deployed there without next-to-no practice.

In Alexander-Arnold and Foden, Southgate has two of the most gifted players England has ever produced on his hands. And yet, so far at least, neither has really made an impact. Alexander-Arnold was swapped out for Conor Gallagher in England's first change of the game against Denmark and Foden — along with Kane and Saka — was replaced not long after that.

It was, essentially, an admission by Southgate that his plan hadn't worked. And it should be no surprise, then, if it is true that several people around the England camp are unsure about the current tactics and the chosen personnel. England has a 'growing concern' about what Southgate is doing. Liverpool must just hope that it isn't Alexander-Arnold who wrongly takes the brunt of the blame.