'How bad he is' - Roy Keane makes a big claim about Liverpool star despite POTY claim

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has hit out at Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold for his inability to defend, despite his brilliant form this season.

Alexander-Arnold, 24, has been a star figure in Jurgen Klopp's side but he has also stood out in terms of the Premier League as a whole given the levels he has shown. Two goals and nine assists in all competitions before the end of January demonstrates how well he has performed.

But Keane, speaking on the latest Overlap episode, has questioned his ability to defend despite the clear attacking qualities he has shown this season. "I can’t believe how bad [Trent Alexander-Arnold] is at defending." He began. "For a guy that’s played a lot of games in defence, it’s like he’s never played the position before. How bad he is at defending, it’s amazing when people just run past him."

Ian Wright, among others, were quick to jump to the Liverpool star's defence, as he responded, "It's such a redundant argument, for people saying players run past him, he's not playing that role now. He is a creator now." Also embedded in this discussion was Jamie Carragher's claim that Alexander-Arnold could be considered the 'Player of the Season' so far for his form.

The former Liverpool defender discussed the topic with Gary Neville, Wright, Keane and Jill Scott as he claimed, "Bernardo Silva has been brilliant, I thought [James] Maddison before he got injured. I think Trent Alexander-Arnold will be top at the moment." In terms of other figures, the panel couldn't agree on one name, with names being floated such as Son Heung-min, Declan Rice, James Maddison and Phil Foden.

For Alexander-Arnold, the defender is still out of action having suffered a torn lateral knee ligament during the EFL Cup semi-final win over Fulham on January 10 and assistant manager Pep Lijnders previously explained the extent of the injury: "First of all, some not-that-good news, Trent hyperextended his knee during the last game. So he has a little tear in the lateral ligament of his knee and he will need time to recover. He had a scan and he will be out for a few weeks, so let's see after that."