Gareth Southgate reveals private chats with Liverpool star after England selection

Gareth Southgate reveals private chats with Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold

Speaking to the media (h/t Mirror), England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed that he held private talks with Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold amid frenzy over his potential selection for the Euros.

With the Euros coming up in over a week, England announced their squad for the summer extravaganza earlier this week. Leading up to the announcement, though, there had been a lot of frenzy in the media over Alexander-Arnold and his place in the squad.

It all started with Southgate omitting the Liverpool defender from the England squad for the last set of international fixtures in March earlier this year. The youngster bounced back from the setback and forced his way into the provisional squad for the Euros but speculations were flying all around that he wouldn’t make it to the final squad because of Southgate’s dislike for him. (h/t Mirror

As it would happen, Alexander-Arnold did make the cut and will be a part of the Three Lions’ squad for the Euros. And, speaking to the media after confirming the squad, Southgate revealed that he had to have private talks with Alexander-Arnold to clear the air over all these “nonsense” reports that were doing the rounds. (h/t Mirror

“I felt there were stories that ran that were so far off the truth. But when it is a player and they might feel that maybe it’s true, maybe the manager is speaking to the press behind their back, that is obviously not the case.

“So last night we’re speaking to Trent saying ‘I don’t know where this has all come from, it’s nonsense’ because people then jump on the agenda and say I don’t like the kid. It’s an incredible situation really.”

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While there may not have been any truth to the reports in the media, sometimes it can have a negative impact on the player’s mindset. So, it was right of Southgate to clear the air with Trent ahead of a prestigious tournament like the Euros.

Having worked his way back into the England squad, the Liverpool ace will have two warm-up games to prove that he deserves to be the starting right-back ahead of Reece James, Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier.