Jürgen Klopp has acknowledged that Liverpool youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold is close to commanding a starting spot after his impressive cameo from the bench in the Merseyside derby.

The 18-year-old came on with 16 minutes of normal time to go against Everton on Saturday and produced an energetic display, nearly scoring twice.

The West Derby-born teenager had previously played exclusively at right-back for the senior squad, but enjoyed a midfield berth for the first time on his 10th first-team appearance.

Due to injuries, Alexander-Arnold could get more minutes when Bournemouth visit Anfield on Wednesday night - with Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson both sidelined in midfield and Emre Can also suffering from being on the receiving end of a few heavy tackles in the derby at the weekend.

Klopp hailed the youngster's progress and declared him "a wonderful player" and insisted the Reds are "really happy to have him" at the club.

The German explained that the England U19 international's recent international break was "really intense" because he "played two full games" and then another "24 minutes" in the third game, adding: "It was intense for him. You could see they did a lot."

We know about Alexander-Arnold's quality, declares Liverpool boss

"When he came on the pitch [against Everton], he had two good moments. We know about his qualities," continued Klopp.

He insisted that it was "really good to see" how well Alexander-Arnold played "as an offensive full-back" playing further forward. Klopp feels that the No.66 "has to improve in defence from the full-back position."

But the Reds boss added: "With his speed, he can play a little bit higher up of course. There you have to defend too. He's not used to that position too much, you could see it in one or two situations."

Klopp said that at 18 years old, Alexander-Arnold is "used to playing full-back" and insisted that they "could manage" to play him in midfield when he is on the near side of the pitch close to Klopp's dug-out, where he can issue instructions to the player.

"If he players on the other side, even my voice is not loud enough to do it!" admitted Klopp. "We are really happy to have him. We need all players in this last part of the season, and he is one of these players."

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About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.