"He probably hated him with a passion” - Liverpool academy director opens up on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s relationship with former teammate

Liverpool's academy director Alex Inglethorpe has revealed that Trent Alexander-Arnold 'hated' a former academy teammate. The right-back rose through the youth ranks at Liverpool to make it to the first team and grow into one of the club's greats.

During his youth days, however, Inglethorpe said that Alexander-Arnold had a rival on the pitch, attacker Bobby Adekanye. The latter currently plies his trade for Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie.

Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Inglethorpe opened up on the England international's age-group days, saying:

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"Trent had a really good sparring partner in a young lad called Bobby Adekanye, who's gone on to have a really good career in Holland. But Bobby was really confident in his own ability... really super confident. Every day he would tell Trent what he was going to do, and you could see Trent hated it with a passion. He probably hated him [Adekanye] with a passion, at the time. It was competitive, it was real, and I think if you're sparring or rehearsing, you need that."

While Alexander-Arnold stayed put with the Reds, winning the Champions League and the Premier League, among other honors, Adekanye joined Lazio on a free transfer in 2019. He has since had spells in Spain and the Netherlands.

Alex Inglethorpe jumps in defense of Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold

Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold faced criticism for his lackluster performance in the Reds' recent 2-2 Premier League draw with Manchester United. The Englishman was partly at fault for both the goals that the Red Devils scored.

But Inglethorpe jumped in defense of the right-back, claiming this was the first time that he had underperformed to such an extent. He said in the same discussion:

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"I think some of it, a lot of it was unfair but some of it was fair maybe. What I was most impressed with was his reaction to it, because it would've been the first time he's had that, it's been a seamless ride up until that moment.

"This would've been the first significant bump in the road he's had in his professional career. Sometimes you learn more about yourself and how to deal with adversity when you're faced with those challenges.

"I don't think he hid away, he confronted it head on and in typical Trent fashion, he decided the only way to put it right is probably on the pitch. I thought he adapted to a new position, new role, he faced up to it and didn't hide behind excuses. I think he just kept his head down and proved a big point with his feet."

Alexander-Arnold has been linked with a move to Real Madrid as his Liverpool contract expires after this season.

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