Roy Keane believes England right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold will get "found out" at Euro 2024 when the side face the bigger teams in the competition.
The Liverpool star is all set for his fourth major international tournament in Three Lions’ colours despite being just 25 years old.
He was listed in England’s squad as a midfielder even though he traditionally plays as a right-back for the Reds, just coming into the middle when his team are in possession.
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Alexander-Arnold was initially believed to be a central midfielder and was developed in the role in Liverpool’s academy, but his main position is as a full-back.
But England have the likes of Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier in the squad as right-backs, so it’s thought that Alexander-Arnold could be deployed in midfield next to Declan Rice.
But former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland man Keane has voiced his concerns, stating that playing Alexander-Arnold in the centre of the park will only work in the group stages, but against better sides, he could get ‘ripped to shreds’.
Keane told ITV Sport: “It’s all about getting the balance right in your team.
“They’ve got some brilliant individuals, we’ve mentioned that many times before. There are four or five players that would walk into any of the teams in this tournament but it’s getting that balance right.
“Talking about the defensive side of it, they have players who can go and win you football matches but it’s the problem with defending against the better teams.”
Keane continued: “I think they’ll be fine in the group, I think Trent will be fine with his positioning in those matches, but it’s against the real top teams that I think he will be found out, very much so.
“In fact, I think he would be ripped to shreds if he plays against one of the better teams in central midfield. I don’t think he’d be up to it.”
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