Roy Keane claims top England star could get ‘ripped to shreds’ at Euro 2024

Roy Keane Trent Alexander-Arnold

Roy Keane believes England star Trent Alexander-Arnold will get ‘found out’ at Euro 2024 if Gareth Southgate decides to do one thing with the Liverpool defender.

Alexander-Arnold is all set for his fourth major international tournament representing England. After another busy season at club level with Liverpool, the 25-year-old is expected to have some significant responsibilities in Southgate’s setup.

Noticeably, he has been listed in England’s squad as a midfielder, despite normally playing at right-back for Liverpool.

Alexander-Arnold was originally a midfielder when he was developing in Liverpool’s academy and has operated in a hybrid role sometimes more recently, but his starting position is usually on the flanks of the defence.

For England, who have Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier in the squad as right-backs, Alexander-Arnold could find more gametime in midfield next to Declan Rice.

But Keane, a former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland midfielder, has warned that such a tactic would only work against lesser teams and if England were to try it against better sides, Alexander-Arnold could get ‘ripped to shreds’.

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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.”

Alexander-Arnold ‘will be found out’

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.”

England’s opening fixture of the Euros will be against Serbia on Sunday. Alexander-Arnold is predicted by most outlets to start in midfield, for what would be his 26th cap for his country.

The worries about his suitability for the role stem from his perceived deficiencies in the defensive phase, whereas the reasons for putting him there are mainly to do with his playmaking abilities.