Fowler on Trent - 'He's got all the attributes to be a top player'
Robbie Fowler sees parallels between Trent Alexander-Arnold's breakthrough into Liverpool's first-team squad and his own rapid rise from Academy hopeful to senior star.
Having debuted for Jürgen Klopp’s side in their EFL Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur in October, Alexander-Arnold went on to make 11 further appearances for the Reds in 2016-17.
An accomplished performance in his maiden Premier League start - against Manchester United at Old Trafford in January - belied the 18-year-old’s tender age and, along with Ben Woodburn, Harry Wilson and Ovie Ejaria, he now trains permanently at Melwood rather than Kirkby.
While the teenager’s ascension to first-team football hasn’t been as rapid as Fowler’s staggering rate of development in the 1990s, the legendary Liverpool striker believes his fellow Scouser has every chance of establishing himself as a regular in Klopp’s side.
Fowler told Liverpoolfc.com: “He has probably got every attribute to be a top player. His attitude, will and drive are what we want as Liverpool supporters. He has got that in abundance.
“I can see a big future for him. Regardless of whether you’re a local lad or a young lad coming into the game, you want to do well first and foremost.
“Maybe the fact that he is young and a lot of people in the Kop and the crowd at Anfield see a little bit of themselves in him drives him on a little bit more. It certainly did with me. I was playing for what I think is the greatest team in the world. For a young local lad to be doing that was brilliant.
“Trent and a few of the other ones are getting chances now and we give Jürgen a little bit of credit for getting the youngsters involved, because we’re probably going to need them in a year or two.”