Following a “superb” decision on one of Jürgen Klopp’s players, a Manchester United man already understands that Liverpool may soon pull off their Jarell Quansah trick.
Liverpool experimented with three different right-back options in the interim between Trent Alexander-Arnold’s hamstring injury against Aston Villa at the beginning of September and his most recent return to the Premier League starting lineup against Brighton. Joe Gomez has been the most frequently used Plan B, having made five appearances thus far. However, midfielders Curtis Jones and Stefan Bajčetić were also called up for one game each.
Although Gomez appeared the most at ease, maybe because he had more time to get used to the position, it’s safe to say that none of the three have looked completely at ease being asked to play Alexander-Arnold’s part. It makes sense, too, given the vice captain has special duties and none of the three players would consider themselves to be right backs, much less reverse ones.
Conor Bradley, a 20-year-old academy graduate who played in the preseason friendlies against Karlsruher and Greuther Fürth, is perhaps the youngster who has so far appeared to be the most likely successor. Yes, those are teams in the German second tier, but to be fair to Bradley, injuries have kept him from having more opportunity.
The good news is that he’s getting closer to making a comeback. Jürgen Klopp claimed before the trip to Brighton that Bradley is ‘on the way back’ and has resumed running at the AXA Training Centre, though he stressed that Liverpool will manage his reintegration carefully given his youth and the nature of the problem (via Liverpool’s official website). That update appeared to be largely consistent with the original prediction of a potential November return.
So, the question is whether Bradley will prove to be Alexander-best Arnold’s backup. The ‘door was open’ to the first team, according to Klopp in the summer (via This is Anfield), but he will be disappointed not to see starting chances in the Europa League group stage and early Carabao Cup.
Both the FA Cup and other competitions might still present one or two opportunities, and we shouldn’t rule out significant Premier League action. That might sound a bit harsh, but take a look at Jarell Quansah, who has performed admirably in every first-team appearance—including his complete Premier League and Europa League debuts—after spending last season with League One Bristol Rovers.
During his concurrent loan spell in that division with Bolton Wanderers, Bradley was one of the league’s best players. In 41 league appearances, he netted five goals and added five assists, winning a clean sweep of the club’s end-of-season awards (Player of the Season, Players’ Player of the Season, and Young Player of the Season). According to Klopp, it was a spell that made a talent known outside of the realm of “football nerds” (via The Athletic).
