Manchester City’s Rico Lewis has responded to comparisons with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Under Jurgen Klopp, Alexander-Arnold helped change the perception of full-backs by consistently delivering assists and being one of Reds’ main creative outlets. The 25-year-old has helped provide a total of 75 assists – with his tally of 13 in the 2019/20 season setting a Premier League record for a defender.
In recent times, though, Liverpool have utilised his remarkable passing ability in different ways. Alexander-Arnold has been deployed as an inverted full-back, allowing the England international to drift into midfield and dictate play in the middle of the pitch. He has also been used in midfield by England boss Gareth Southgate on several occasions.
The concept of an inverted full-back is one that has also been used by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. It is something that seemingly plays to the strengths of academy graduate Rico Lewis, who is capable of playing in several positions, and has had time to observe Alexander-Arnold during the current international break.
I would not say picked his brains – for me there has not been much on the pitch yet that we can talk about or anything like that but I have had a few conversations with him and he is a very nice person,” Lewis told The Mirror. “He is somebody I have got to know a little bit.
“We are very similar being full-backs and leaning a little bit more towards midfield, especially with England. And he is somebody I can take a lot of information from.”
While both players will hope to feature for England against North Macedonia tonight, the pair will soon be on opposite sides. Liverpool are set to travel to the Etihad for an important clash against City at the top of the league table on Saturday.
