Wayne Rooney sends clear Liverpool warning to Arne Slot over Trent Alexander-Arnold position

Wayne Rooney has offered some advice to Arne Slot and Gareth Southgate about playing Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield. The Liverpool vice-captain regularly drops into the position at club level and was listed as a midfielder in England's provisional squad for EURO 2024.

The 25-year-old has been capped 23 times by England but it appears he is not trusted by Southgate to play at right-back. And amid England's midfield shortage, it appears his best hope of playing this summer is in the middle of the park.

There have also been some suggestions that Slot may move Alexander-Arnold permanently at club level due to Conor Bradley's emergence. But ex-Manchester United and England legend Rooney is hesitant given the limitations he has already spotted.

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“I have watched Trent play there a few times in midfield and I think you lose a lot of his qualities,” Rooney said on The Overlap. “I think his delivery is incredible.

"Of course, he picks passes from midfield but I think he has to fight it out. I know Kyle Walker is the best right-back in the world at the minute but I think midfield is such an important position. I would play Mainoo before Trent in midfield, 100 per cent.

“It’s not that he’s not good in there. You see it against Everton the other week. Some of his passes he is hitting are incredible and it’s probably only Becks [David Beckham] who hits them similar to him. But to play in midfield, that discipline you need from a defensive point of view, especially when you come up against the bigger teams. I think he will get found out a bit.”

Despite Rooney's concerns, Southgate had clear plans for the Liverpool man in mind. The England boss had planned to give Alexander-Arnold an extended run out against Brazil and Belgium in March, however, a hamstring injury to the player denied his opportunity.

“The midfield thing we’ve seen, but we’ve missed two opportunities with September and now this one that is really frustrating because there’s so much that’s unknown about it at the minute,” Southgate said at the time of Alexander-Arnold's setback.

“As you know, I’ve liked the idea for a long time but we’re going to be trialling it when we haven’t seen it in a really high-level game. So we’ll just have to see where we can go with it.”

Liverpool.com says: Whether or not Southgate trusts Alexander-Arnold in the midfield role for Euro 2024, remains to be seen. The Liverpool star will undoubtedly be in Germany for the tournament and if injuries or other problems arise, Alexander-Arnold will be able to cover multiple positions across the squad.