🏆 Ballon d'OneFootball: And in 11th place is ... | OneFootball

Welcome to the third annual edition of the Ballon d’OneFootball as we continue our countdown of the top 25 players in the world.

Click right here to see the full list so far.

And today we have …

11th: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool and England

(New entry)

Technically, if you were to refer to check any squad list you would see Trent Alexander-Arnold noted down like any other right-back.

But naming his position doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface when it comes to how he plays.

The 23-year-old may start games as a defender but he controls them like a midfielder; Alexander-Arnold is Liverpool’s chief playmaker.

Where a lot of modern day wing-backs work on the overlap, hugging the touchline and getting to the byline, Liverpool’s right-back operates in advanced positions on the inside of the attacking third.

Alexander-Arnold’s capabilities are phenomenal.

He can deliver a cross directly to the head of an attacker six yards and has the ability to produce a cross-field pass in the same way Kevin De Bruyne does.

A deadly cocktail, and the numbers are there to back it up.

There have been 14 assists so far in 2021/22, and 60 overall in his 214 appearances for Liverpool.

Only his team-mate Andrew Robertson and Leighton Baines have managed more as defenders since the Premier League began.

The question that remains whether he will ever nail down a regular spot for the national team with only 16 caps to his name to date.

At club level, he has achieved nearly everything he possibly could have and is still just 23.

The 2019 Champions League was followed by the Club World Cup and the league title a year later. After the EFL Cup win in February, only the FA Cup has escaped his clutches.

Alexander-Arnold has been key to Liverpool’s successes – not bad for a right-back.

Click right here to see the full list so far.