Arne Slot has now given his view on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s best position

Arne Slot has explained his stance on the debate over Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s best position, putting the onus on himself to “bring the best out of the team.”

Alexander-Arnold’s role in the side was one of the biggest talking points when Slot took over as head coach, having seen the No. 66’s position change under Jurgen Klopp.

While he was utilised as an inverted full-back last season, moving into midfield, pre-season under Slot has seen the Reds mostly play with an out-and-out right-back.

There were times in Alexander-Arnold’s only friendly outing – the 4-1 win over Sevilla at Anfield – where he did invert, however, leaving opposing managers guessing where he will play.

In his pre-Ipswich press conference on Friday, Slot was asked where he saw his best position and his plans for the vice-captain.

“I think a position for players is always related to the team,” he said.

“It’s also my aim to bring the best out of the player, but the first aim is to bring the best out of the team. It helps if you also bring the best out of a player then.

“Trent is known for playing as a right full-back, for all his life I think, and when he was a youngster he played in midfield.

“In the modern Game, you see a lot of full-backs going into the midfield, that is what he did last season once in a while, and I saw him playing at the Euros in midfield.

“So I think he’s capable of playing both positions really good, and then it’s up to me where I think he could help the team the most.”

Given the impressive form of Conor Bradley throughout pre-season there could even be some arguing whether it should be the young Northern Irishman starting against Ipswich instead.

That seems unlikely, but as it stands Liverpool will need to consider succession planning when it comes to Alexander-Arnold.

Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah all head into the new campaign with less than 12 months left on their contracts, with no progress reported so far.

Slot was asked about their situation and the likelihood of the trio staying beyond 2024/25, and replied: “I don’t think this is the place to talk about contracts.

“But I can assure you that they are in the squad tomorrow.”