Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he was paid a visit at Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre by Trent Alexander-Arnold’s mother this week. Alexander-Arnold had turned 17 only weeks prior to Liverpool’s surprise decision to axe Rodgers and hire the highly-rated Klopp in October 2015.
While there was plenty of excitement around football over the German’s move to the Premier League, there was anxiety among the parents of academy players over whether their sons would be given a chance in the first teamIn an interview with The Anfield Wrap at Kirkby in recent days, the 56-year-old said that the vice-captain’s mum wanted to voice her gratitude for everything he’s done for her son’s career.
The German also outlined how Dianne was worried about her second-born child’s prospects at LFC when a manager from outside the UK was hired in October 2015, when the right-back had just turned 17. Klopp said: “This morning, Trent’s mum was here and wanted to say thank you and goodbye, more or less.
She told me what she thought when Brendan left and I came in. They told her before, when Trent was even younger, the new boys at that age need an English manager because managers from other countries don’t look at the academy, so she was really worried.“How that all worked out, that’s a beautiful story.
I know her from the beginning; [Trent’s] first contract, she did that. She was in the building for the first two contracts, probably, and it’s great to see her now and how well she’s doing. She’s happy and Trent is doing really well.
It was Klopp who gave Trent his senior Liverpool debut at 18 a year after taking over as the Reds’ manager, so he’s been there every step of the way as the now 25-year-old matured from being an academy hopeful to the vice-captain of one of the biggest clubs in world football.
Therefore, his family are bound to feel an enormous sense of gratitude towards the German for overseeing that magnificent journey, and it’s clear from their involvement in his off-field affairs (his older brother Tyler is also his agent) that those are in the hands of people who have his best interests at heart.As the 56-year-old put it, the rise of the West Derby maestro is ‘a beautiful story’.
