Reece James’ dad shares what he really thinks about Trent Alexander-Arnold

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The father of Chelsea right-back Reece James has lauded Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold as being ‘world-class.’

A debate has often raged around which player is the better right-back, as they battle for a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England team. In terms of the Three Lions, James has often won that war, regularly starting ahead of the Liverpool man for Southgate.

But speaking to The Beautiful Game Podcast, Nigel James suggested that there was no rivalry between the pair.

“The other day they put Trent in centre-mid, try him out with that. You just never know what the plan is,” James says. He went on to praise Alexander-Arnold, as well as another England full-back, Kyle Walker.

“He can have that [defensive lapses], but what you’ve got to look at, Trent is an absolute top, top, top player. He’s world-class. Walker, world-class. They’re all world-class players otherwise they wouldn’t be where they are today,” he explained.

“Unless you’ve done it yourself or you’ve coached that level, you shouldn’t have an opinion.”

James snr weighs in on right-back debate

We’re biased, of course. But during their respective careers so far, we don’t think there’s ever been a point where James could be seen as being superior to Alexander-Arnold.

Yes, Trent had a very, very difficult season last time around. James hardly fared any better though, with Chelsea finishing a lowly 12th and the full-back struggling with injuries.

As well as missing the World Cup, James only played 16 Premier League games in 2022/23. Alexander-Arnold may have been having a bad time of it, but at least he was on the pitch.

Then, with Jurgen Klopp executing a position shift for him, the 24-year-old showed exactly why he’s perhaps England’s most talented player. We couldn’t see James doing that same role anything like as effectively.

Nevertheless, Southgate clearly does prefer the Chelsea man in his natural position. For the moment, it seems as though it’s midfield or bust for Alexander-Arnold and England.

We clearly don’t agree with that, Trent still offers more from right-back than almost any other player on the planet. But we will concede that James is the more robust defensively of the two.

If Alexander-Arnold can keep his right-sided midfield spot with the 23-year-old in behind him though, that has the look of something potentially special. There’s still room for two in this debate.