Liverpool will benefit from vital England trio if Southgate selects them

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Liverpool could – and perhaps should – have a key England trio in their ranks. That’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez and Jordan Henderson.

Now, the trio may not be the best three England players. They may never reach the influential heights of Harry Kane or Raheem Sterling in this team.

Then again, maybe they will. But that’s not where the importance to Liverpool comes in. Instead, it’s that Liverpool’s right-side should end up being England’s right-side.

First off, no, Mohamed Salah isn’t changing nations and so the best player on Liverpool’s right flank isn’t involved. Structurally, however, the key men are.

We’ve spoken recently of the importance of Alexander-Arnold establishing himself. Liverpool having international regulars boosts them individually and increases their reputation.

That’s certainly one advantage of the Liverpool trio establishing themselves as England regulars. But another is just in playing time and confidence.

Playing together at every level

One downside of international breaks for clubs is that the players are off doing other things. Specifically, they’re learning different systems, playing with different players, possibly in different positions.

Liverpool may not have that with the defence and midfield on their right flank. Instead, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, and Henderson would all feature together, all season long.

That brings about extra practice and familiarity. It also increases confidence in themselves – it proves that this isn’t just a club lineup or an international lineup. It proves that two different teams at two different levels both like it and want it. That simply must be a boost to the players and that’s a benefit to Liverpool.

You think back to World Cup winners Germany or the Spain side before them – they featured groups of players who played both club and international football together. That benefitted everyone and it would certainly benefit Liverpool this time around.

With Michael Keane’s mistake against Kosovo, Gomez has a real chance of a regular place. Alexander-Arnold is simply England’s best full-back, while Henderson is already a regular. It’s a selection that works for Liverpool – all that’s left now is for Gareth Southgate to realise it’s his best selection, too.