Gregory Vignal has urged Arne Slot to put his faith in one young player at Liverpool if a long-serving Anfield stalwart were to leave in the summer.
It looks increasingly as though this could be Trent Alexander-Arnold’s final season with the Reds, with no imminent sign of a contract renewal just three months out from becoming a free agent and Real Madrid unrelenting in their pursuit of our vice-captain.
Perhaps in preparation for the 26-year-old’s possible exit, the LFC head coach has reportedly been in frequent contact with Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong as a potential replacement, although there’s already another talented right-back in the Premier League leaders’ squad.
Vignal calls for Bradley to be given a chance
Speaking exclusively to Empire of the Kop, Vignal was asked if Conor Bradley has what it takes to step up and become Liverpool’s first choice in that position if Trent were to leave.
The former Reds full-back replied: “Give him a chance. Why not?”, although he advocated for a more experienced option to be brought in so that the Northern Ireland youngster can continue to develop.
The 43-year-old said: “I will give him [Bradley] a chance, but I will need maybe someone who knows the high level, someone who’s already won something and understands what it means to be at the top level week in and week out, even to help him because he’s still young and still learning.”
Will Bradley be Trent’s long-term successor at Liverpool?
Similar to Caoimhin Kelleher – who Vignal has advised to remain in England if he leaves Liverpool in the summer – Bradley has shown that he’s more than good enough for Premier League level but is unfortunate to find a world-class player impeding his path to a regular berth in Slot’s starting XI.
However, if Trent were to depart at the end of this season, the 21-year-old might plausibly have an opening to make the right-back position his own at Anfield, thus sparing FSG the need to spend big on a replacement when other parts of the squad could be addressed.
It’s worth remembering that our current vice-captain was thrown in at the deep end eight years ago when Nathaniel Clyne was injured, and he fully seized his opportunity. That anecdote serves as a reminder that LFC can develop talents from within who are good enough to carve out a first-team place in the long-term.
Bradley hasn’t let Liverpool down whenever Slot (or Jurgen Klopp last season) has entrusted him to start, and it’s a crying shame that he finds himself injured at the same time as Trent, with a perfect window of opportunity closed off to the youngster.
We wouldn’t say no to a right-back signing if our number 66 were to leave this summer, but we’d also have every faith in his current understudy to step up and nail down that position for himself over the next few years.
Keep an eye out soon for an extended interview with Vignal (and check out plenty more great content) on The Football Historian Podcast!
