Lee Carsley puts stamp on England squad with Trent Alexander-Arnold role change - The Mirror

Lee Carsley named his first England squad since becoming interim boss on Thursday, with Trent Alexander-Arnold handed a different role under the Irishman than he had under Gareth Southgate

England interim boss Lee Carsley has insisted Trent Alexander-Arnold will play in his natural right-back position, in a clear break from predecessor Gareth Southgate.

During Euro 2024, with Southgate in charge, Alexander-Arnold was deployed in central midfield. The experiment lasted just two games, before Southgate opted to use Kobbie Mainoo alongside Declan Rice.

Alexander-Arnold was relegated to the role of substitute, having struggled to make much of an impact in midfield. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had also experimented with playing his vice-captain further forward.

But Carsley will not be pushing forward with Southgate's experiment. Instead, he has named Alexander-Arnold as a defender for September's Nations League games against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.

Alexander-Arnold is one of three right-backs named in Carsley's squad, alongside Manchester City's Rico Lewis and Newcastle's Tino Livramento. That makes him the senior man of the group.

City skipper Kyle Walker has been omitted by the Three Lions' interim boss, while Kieran Trippier announced his retirement from international football earlier on Thursday.

And Carsley has made it clear where he sees Alexander-Arnold playing during his time in charge. While he conceded that the Liverpool star had the ability to play further forward, right-back will be his position for the Three Lions.

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“For me, and this camp especially, he will be a right-back, playing in defence. Trent, especially modern-day full-backs, have all-round attributes that almost turn them into midfielders," he said.

"Very comfortable receiving the ball, great range of passing, as has Rico and Kyle Walker-Peters who I watched at Southampton the other day. They're very comfortable in possession and playing forward. I think we'll see Trent in those areas but I see him as a right-back."

Carsley insisted Walker, England's first-choice right-back throughout Southgate's reign, still has a future on the international stage. He pointed to his lack of game-time so far this season as the reason for his omission.

"It's important players here are ready to play and up to speed. Kyle hasn't played for Manchester City yet, suggesting they're phasing him in. We wanted to pick players who have minutes in their legs. These are two tough games. That was my thinking," he added.

"Players who aren't involved aren't ruled out, I'm not in a position to do that. I see Harry Maguire as a really good leader. We have young defenders like Marc Guehi and Levi Colwill, so Harry and John [Stones] will be a really good example for them."

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