Roy Keane delivers blunt verdict on England right-backs picked ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold

• 

• Liverpool FC News
• Features
• Trent Alexander-Arnold

Roy Keane delivers a blunt verdict on England's right-backs, insisting those ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold offer no clear defensive improvement in the squad debate

Roy Keane believes those chosen ahead of Alexander-Arnold at international level aren't any stronger defensively

Roy Keane believes that those chose ahead of Trent Alexander Arnold for England aren't any better defensively.

Alexander-Arnold moved to Real Madrid last summer and has since faced an injury-hit start to life in Spain, though he has begun to settle into his role within the squad. He was part of the side that helped eliminate Manchester City from the Champions League, as well as getting an assist after coming off the bench in the Madrid derby as Los Blancos push for the La Liga title

However, his momentum was halted after England manager Thomas Tuchel left him out of the squad for upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, dealing a setback to his international prospects ahead of the World Cup. Alexander-Arnold had just five words to say after his England snub.

Tuchel opted for 35 man squad for the upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan choosing Djed Spence, Tino Livramento and Jarell Quansah for cover at right-back.

Quansah, who joined Bayer Leverkusen from Liverpool last summer, suffered what has been described as a “knock” that ruled him out of joining the England setup. He was later replaced by Arsenal's Ben White who hasn't featured for the national side since 2022.

However Keane doesn't think that any of those chosen are any stronger defensively. "Do you know the strange thing is when people say about Trent's defensive stuff? The other defenders ahead of him are not great defensively either" Keane said on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast.

"Its not like Tuchel's going 'I like it to be rock solid at the back'. Some of the lads ahead of him are not even good defenders."

Trent Alexander-Arnold again was snubbed by England manager Thomas Tuchel(Image: Getty Images)

Ian Wright tried to defend the decision stating that those chosen ahead of the 27-year-old can play in both fullback decisions. Keane retorted: "Why do people when they talk about the England squad go 'oh well they can play in different positions'? You want lads who are really good [in their position] you don't want a jack of all trades."

Keane went on to add: "You look at that squad and anlayze it. Defensively its not good"

Alexander-Arnold’s situation at Real Madrid stabilized following the departure of Xabi Alonso and the promotion of Arbeloa from the club’s reserve setup in January.

While his minutes have not significantly increased, Arbeloa is understood to hold the England international in high regard.

The coach also downplayed Alexander-Arnold’s omission from the starting XI in his post-match press conference, without giving full details.

However, reports claim the defender arrived around 20 minutes late to a recent training session and has since accepted disciplinary action, apologizing to Arbeloa, captain Dani Carvajal, and his teammates.