“Leader by example”- Ljinders opens up on who could be Liverpool’s next skipper

Pep Lijnders backs Trent Alexander-Arnold to be a future Liverpool captain

Few individuals have contributed more to Liverpool’s recent success than Pep Lijnders, who would be rightly called as Jurgen Klopp’s right-hand man. The Reds’ assistant manager has been a part of some of the most memorable occasions in the club’s glorious past, including ending the Red’s 30-year wait for the prestigious Premier League title.

The assistant manager has lived on Merseyside for four years and has witnessed some of the best footballers don the red shirt in front of the Liverpool fans. However, he also helped the club develop some top academy talents and ever since, their debut Lijnders has been a key figure in improving their performances.

The Liverpool No.2 has backed another academy graduate to be the club’s next captain. Trent Alexander-Arnold has received

high praise from Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders, who expressed his pride in the Englishman and is relishing the opportunity of coaching the talented right-back.

The 23-year-old has consistently played in the club’s starting lineup for a number of seasons now. The Englishman has made 226 appearances and contributed 62 assists making him one of the major creative forces for Jurgen Klopp’s team.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is a defender by trade, but his strength is his attacking ability which has helped the Anfield side in lifting six major titles since his debut.

The Englishman also holds the record for the most Premier League assists by a defender (13 assists) thanks to his contributions during the 2019–20 season.

According to an excerpt from his book, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo, Pep Lijnders recently said that he considers himself “fortunate” to be able to work with Alexander-Arnold as the player has the qualities to be the next leader of the team. He said:

“I still see the same fire in his eyes in each training session, but I don’t see this young guy anymore; I see a leader, I see someone who controls his emotions, a future captain. A leader by example.”

Working with top talents would be exciting but these words would prove a fact that the English right-back has been improving himself every season. Jurgen Klopp would trust the defender to feature in the majority of the games even after harsh critics stated that he wouldn’t defend well.

But all that it matters for the manager is how well he knows the player and his faith would have helped Trent Alexander-Arnold to be worthy of these praises.

It would be frightening for the opposition teams to defend Alexander-Arnold and he would love to dominate the right-flank for years at Anfield. Consequently, there is still potential for development for the right-back.

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The 23-year-old has the third most assists in the Premier League (45) and is just nine assists away from breaking Leighton Baines’ record for most assists in the Premier League (53). It would be yet another record shattered by one of the most promising stars in the league.