After Trent Alexander-Arnold exit, Arne Slot may have to undo one of Jurgen Klopp’s greatest moves | OneFootball

When many thought the Liverpool manager needed to buy a right back, he chose not to. But that was because Jurgen Klopp was prepared to be patient, as he knew that a teenage Trent Alexander-Arnold was coming through. Klopp didn’t want to block his path to the team.

For Arne Slot, too, an early decision in the transfer market revolves around the right-back position and Alexander-Arnold. For him, the question is very different. The news his vice-captain delivered in spring, that he wanted a new challenge and would leave in the summer, might have come with a sizeable dent to Slot’s summer budget. Certainly, it requires some planning.

One initial difficulty, even for a club with Liverpool’s fine record in recruitment, is Alexander-Arnold’s uniqueness. Liverpool have used statistics to profile players, but even the naked eye should tell them there is no right back quite like the boy from West Derby.

The new Premier League champions could be both blessed and challenged when it comes to the succession plan: blessed because, in Conor Bradley, they possess an endearing understudy, a rising talent seemingly benefitting from a big-match temperament – a player who showed a buccaneering brilliance as he was rampant against Real Madrid this season and Chelsea last.

And yet Bradley is a veteran of just 14 Premier League starts and three in the Champions League, the last a troubled outing against PSV Eindhoven. It would be a statement of faith to make him the first choice, even if, at 21, he is older than Alexander-Arnold was when he won the Champions League.

So Liverpool’s first decision may be which of three categories of right backs they target: an automatic choice, a back-up to Bradley, or a player who comes in on a par with the Northern Irishman, starting a contest for the vacancy Alexander-Arnold has left.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold leaves Liverpool as a two-time Premier League winner and one-time Champions League winner – among other accolades (Getty Images)

If Liverpool look to replace one of the best right backs in the world with another, some – such as Achraf Hakimi, Jurrien Timber, Jules Kounde and Joshua Kimmich – may logically feel out of reach. Ignore the injury-prone and the 30-somethings, and it might leave Jeremie Frimpong as the prime candidate. For a Dutch manager and a sporting director, in Richard Hughes, with a distinct Italian influence, it would be intriguing if Denzel Dumfries became a contender.

If Liverpool look for a second choice, the out-of-contract Kyle Walker-Peters could have some appeal. Fulham’s Kenny Tete, Wolves’s Nelson Semedo and Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey are other Premier League right backs who, as things stand, could be available on free transfers in the summer. A pedigree in the division may be reassuring. If Liverpool were to target the up-and-coming and look abroad, it would mean they would have two inexperienced options. Meanwhile, the profile of full backs they have pursued and picked in recent years suggests attacking excellence would be required.

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Could Conor Bradley be elevated to Liverpool’s first-choice right back? (Getty Images)

The third category, of players who, like Bradley, have the potential to start regularly for Liverpool but don’t yet have the stature to guarantee a spot, opens up other possibilities. Lutsharel Geertruida excelled for Slot at Feyenoord. His debut year for RB Leipzig has not been an unqualified success, however. In the Premier League’s middle class, there are some who have had breakthrough seasons, particularly Daniel Munoz of Crystal Palace and Ola Aina, who has a solitary year left on his Nottingham Forest contract.

Whichever path Liverpool go down, it comes in the context of a club who have tended to buy well but who have not needed to worry about this position for almost a decade. They only paid for one specialist right back, the oft-injured forgotten man Calvin Ramsay, during Klopp’s reign.

But they ended up with centre back Jarell Quansah starting at right back in the Carabao Cup final. A further fact to consider is that Joe Gomez, a part-time right back who, along with James Milner back in the day, could stand in for Alexander-Arnold, has his own injury problems.

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Inter’s Denzel Dumfries might be a good fit for the English champions (REUTERS)

And what of the other voids Alexander-Arnold will leave? In Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah and Alisson, there are three in Liverpool’s leadership group who could step up to become vice-captain. Should they need someone else to complete a quintet, there are candidates: Gomez as the longest-serving player, respected figures like Wataru Endo (though he rarely starts), and Alexis Mac Allister. Or, should a local flavour be wanted, Curtis Jones.

The harder part is in compensating for the loss of creativity. Even goalscoring defenders like Dumfries and Frimpong can’t pass and cross like Alexander-Arnold; among Premier League right backs, Pedro Porro comes closest. But the Merseysider has 63 assists in the last seven top-flight seasons. In many a creative statistic – assists, expected assists per 90 minutes, key passes – Alexander-Arnold tends to be off the charts, compared to other right backs.

When Philippe Coutinho left, Klopp recalibrated his team, so more of the creativity came from the full backs. Now Slot may have to change it back. Alexander-Arnold has often fashioned more chances than Liverpool midfielders in the last seven seasons. While Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai have done well this year, they could also be charged with taking over some of Alexander-Arnold’s duties, and taking some of the load off Bradley or a new right back – whoever he may be, and whichever category he belongs in.