New England coach hints at another surprise role for Trent Alexander-Arnold

Trent Alexander-Arnold may be required to pitch in in another new role for England, with interim head coach Lee Carsley listing him as one of his options.

Alexander-Arnold was the only Liverpool player named in the England squad for the October break, as the Three Lions prepare to face Greece and Finland.

It came as no surprise that the vice-captain was called up, with Carsley a huge admirer having started him in both of his two Games in charge so far.

Those two appearances came at right-back, but Gareth Southgate’s interim successor heads into these next UEFA Nations League clashes with a dearth of natural options at left-back.

Speaking in a press conference on Thursday, Carsley then listed Alexander-Arnold alongside two others as unlikely solutions.

“[Trent] can play there. Bukayo [Saka] can play there, Cole [Palmer] can play there, so there’s quite a few,” he told reporters.

“Obviously you want to get the best out of them in their most natural positions.

“We know if we play a right-footed player there, at left-back, that we’re going to have to build differently and be creative in the way we set up.”

There is no suggestion that Alexander-Arnold – or Saka or Palmer for that matter – would be a full-time left-back under Carsley, with the 50-year-old simply favouring tactical flexibility.

“If you’re asking a right-footed player to play high and wide and playing too high and wide, it can sometimes be a little bit predictable,” he continued.

“It’s important that we aren’t predictable, that we’ve got different ways of attacking.

“I think with the players we’ve got we can also swap the players over the wide players so they are on their natural sides just to give the opposition something different to think about.”

His issue is more in how to fit all of his in-form players into one side, which could lead to concerns over falling into the same trap previous England managers have in shoehorning world-class talents into unnatural positions.

There is no natural left-back in the squad for this month’s fixtures, with Levi Colwill and Rico Lewis the other options against Greece and Finland.