“People talk a lot of rubbish” - Jude Bellingham offers staunch defence of Liverpool superstar
Jude Bellingham has come out in support of Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold amid questions over the latter's spot in the England midfield.
The Three Lions began their Euro 2024 campaign on Sunday night (June 16) with a 1-0 win over Serbia. Declan Rice, Alexander-Arnold and Bellingham started in the middle of the park in this match for Gareth Southgate.
However, it wasn't the best of outings for the Reds' right-back, who struggled to get up to the pace of the game. He failed to deliver an accurate cross, lost possessions on 12 occasions, and did not complete a successful dribble from two attempts.
Despite this, Bellingham has come out to defend his teammate, with whom the Real Madrid man has shared the pitch seven times across competitions. He said (via @AnfieldSector):
"He makes it so easy for me because he can control the game so well defensively in that position. I know people talk a lot of rubbish but he's so aggressive with that back-to-goal pressure."
In England's win against Serbia, Alexander-Arnold was brought off in the 69th minute for Conor Gallagher to seemingly shore up the defensive side of things. Should he wish to drop the 25-year-old, Southgate has the option of playing Rice and Bellingham in deep-lying midfield roles.
This would then open up a spot for a creative midfielder. The likes of Cole Palmer or Eberechi Eze could take up that number 10 position. A straight like-for-like swap is also present for Alexander Arnold, with Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo available.
Roy Keane is worried about Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold's new midfield role
Manchester United legend Roy Keane believes Trent Alexander-Arnold will struggle for England in a midfield role against big teams. For Liverpool, the latter often plays at right-back, while inverting into midfield at times.
However, the former Red Devils star claimed that Alexander-Arnold would struggle in a proper midfield position in Euro 2024. Speaking to ITV 1, Keane said (via This is Anfield):
"I think they'll be fine in the group. I think Trent will be fine in his position in them matches, but against the real top teams, I think he'll be found out very much so."
England still have group matches against Denmark (June 20) and Slovenia remaining (June 25). Should they make it through to the Round of 16, there will be tougher challenges awaiting the Liverpool defender.