Will "Unbelievable" Conor Bradley Force Liverpool to Move Trent Alexander-Arnold Into Midfield?

Will "unbelievable" Conor Bradley push Liverpool to move Trent Alexander-Arnold into midfield? Bradley scored his first Liverpool goal in a 4-1 win vs. Chelsea.

After Trent Alexander-Arnold suffered a knee injury against Arsenal on January 7, many fans worried how Liverpool would cope without their star right-back.

Three and a half weeks later, those Reds supporters may now be questioning whether Alexander-Arnold - who is close to regaining full fitness - is even the best man for the job in that position.

That is because 20-year-old Conor Bradley has excelled in Alexander-Arnold's absence.

In his last four appearances, Bradley has assisted five goals and scored one himself.

The Northern Ireland international has also looked solid defensively - something that has often not been said of Alexander-Arnold.

Bradley scored the first goal of his Liverpool career following an athletic overlapping run in Wednesday's 4-1 win over Chelsea.

He also set up strikes for Diogo Jota and Dominik Szoboszlai before being subbed off for Alexander-Arnold in the 68th minute.

Bradley's dominating display against Chelsea saw him named as the Player of the Match for the second time in four days - he also won the award in a 5-2 victory over Norwich at the weekend.

Former Scotland striker Ally McCoist was the man who selected Bradley as Wednesday's MVP as part of his commentary role with TNT Sports.

McCoist quipped as Liverpool's no.84 left the field that manager Jurgen Klopp was maybe "trying to save Bradley's legs for Arsenal at the weekend", before adding: "What an unbelievable 65 minutes from the young man".

Conor Bradley pictured (right) being substituted off for Liverpool teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold after a Player of the Match performance in Wednesday's 4-1 win over Chelsea :: IMAGO/PA Images/Peter Byrne

Although McCoist was semi-joking, it is not farfetched to imagine that this was indeed a move by Klopp to keep one of his most in-form players fresh for what will be a big test of Liverpool's Premier League title challenge at the Emirates Stadium.

Alexander-Arnold is by no means a guaranteed starter for that game... at least not at right-back.

For years there have been calls for Klopp to deploy Alexander-Arnold in midfield to get the best out of his creative talent and make Liverpool more solid defensively.

Gareth Southgate already seems convinced that the 25-year-old is better further up the field, having handed him the no.10 jersey in four England games last year.

Alexander-Arnold pictured wearing the no.10 jersey for England vs. North Macedonia in June 2023 :: IMAGO/Sportsphoto/Nigel French

But Klopp has so far appeared more reluctant to recategorize the Premier League's best attacking full-back.

However, Alexander-Arnold played as a midfielder for the final quarter of Sunday's game vs. Norwich, with Bradley continuing to operate in the no.2 role after starting the game there.

Perhaps this was a trial run of something we could soon see much more regularly.

Szoboszlai joked in a post-game TV interview on Wednesday night that "Trent should take care of his position" or he might lose it to Bradley for good.

But if Bradley emerges as Liverpool's first choice at right-back for the long term, it could actually be midfielder Szoboszlai who loses his spot to Trent.

Bradley has provided five assists in his last four appearances for Liverpool :: IMAGO/PA Images/Peter Byrne