Liverpool already has answer to Roy Keane's Trent Alexander-Arnold complaint

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a stunning free-kick goal for England on Sunday, helping the Three Lions to a 3-1 win in Finland. Even more stunning was the fact that former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane praised him for it.

"Lovely goal, great technique,” he said. “The technique is fantastic, the power behind it, and there's probably no chance for the goalkeeper. I'm usually harsh on goalkeepers but I'll go easy on that one. The power and the accuracy behind the goal makes it very difficult to stop.”

Keane being Keane, criticism of Alexander-Arnold was not far behind. "If you give time to Trent, you can see his decision-making, his quality passing is fantastic but honestly, I still can't believe how bad he is defensively. Against better teams, of course he'll be found out." Fortunately for Keane, Liverpool already has a solution to this problem in the shape of Conor Bradley.

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The truth is that the presence of Alexander-Arnold has never been a significant problem defensively. He was part of the team which conceded just 22 goals in 2018/19, the club’s best figure in the Premier League and fourth best in its top flight history.

The Reds of 2024/25 stand a realistic chance of improving on that record too. Pundits just drone on about Trent as they have narratives to set and often little of genuine interest to add to the debate,

Even so, a squad needs depth and options for the future. In Bradley, who recently captained Northern Ireland for the first time, Liverpool has exactly that. His international performances have been drawing praise from across the board.

“I don’t think Conor Bradley will be a vocal captain but I think the way he plays, he sets standards and boys will follow him,” said Michael O’Connor, a former Northern Ireland international (via BBC Sport). John O’Neill, who was part of the country’s squad at the World Cup in 1982 and 1986 was impressed by the Liverpool right-back’s attacking.

“I think Trai Hume and Conor Bradley have been the best going forward in terms of distribution,” he said, later adding: “that was a brilliant ball from Conor Bradley on the right-hand side and unfortunately, again, he [Jamie Reid] just can’t seem to get it out from underneath his feet!” Impressing the great and good of Northern Irish football is a great way for the Liverpool youngster to begin his captaincy. But will Keane take note?

Liverpool.com says: Keane’s opinion on Bradley is unrecorded at this point. If the defender gets a few more opportunities from Arne Slot, sadly we might have to find out what he thinks soon enough.