A lot can happen in a year in football with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marcus Rashford showing that to be very true.
Just last year, Alexander-Arnold became the youngest player to win all major honours in the English game after lifting the FA Cup at the age of 23 and 219 days leading to a 22nd place finish in the Ballon d'Or while Rashford was being told to leave Manchester United to revive his career.
Fast forward 12 months and now it is Liverpool who are being told to part ways with the Scouser in their team as United star Rashford is being spoken about alongside the best players in the world this campaign.
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Liverpool are in need of an overhaul in the summer with the current squad struggling down in eighth place in the Premier League and were knocked out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage. FSG are needing to provide Jurgen Klopp with funds for the rebuild.
The Reds owners have come into question in the past week after pulling out of the race to sign Jude Bellingham due to the transfer budget needing to be spent on more than one player and the question has been raised as to whether selling Alexander-Arnold would benefit Liverpool.
Tony Cascarino told TalkSPORT that the Reds number 66 could be sold in order to raise funds in the summer: “Who would you say is at the right age is the most favourable player at Liverpool [for other clubs] at the moment? You’d probably say Trent. Even though he’s had a difficult year, Trent is of an age – he’s 24 – where you can still get a really big deal for him.
“He’s a Barcelona type of player, or a team that wants to play the way Trent does. They’ve still got some young lads they’re excited about at Liverpool, but it’s a very difficult one to imagine how Liverpool and how Klopp are going to deal with what’s in front of them.”
Many involved in football seem to have short memories. Yes, Alexander-Arnold has had a poor season by his own standards, but for last few years he has been spoken about as one of the best right-backs in the world - that isn't something you give up on if you're Liverpool.
United decided to stand by Rashford after a season in which he scored just four times in 25 league appearances and pundits were calling for him to leave Old Trafford for a new challenge. Move on a year and he has now struck 15 goals in 29 games. A turnaround United knew he was capable of.
It is easy to forget Alexander-Arnold played a huge role in Liverpool winning the Champions League and lifting the Premier League with 99 points to then adding the Super Cup, Club World Cup, League Cup and FA Cup to his resume. That is most definitely something you persevere with and Klopp will know this.
The season is almost over and Alexander-Arnold will have the summer to reflect on what he can do better and analyse what he needs to improve on before returning to Liverpool with a point to prove once pre-season begins in July.
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