‘Those are big numbers’ – Why Trent Alexander-Arnold deserves to win Player of the Year accolades over Liverpool teammate Jordan Henderson
Tony Cascarino believes Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold has been overlooked for this season's Player of the Year accolades.
Reds skipper Jordan Henderson has already claimed the Football Writers' prize and the PFA award will undoubtedly go to him or Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
However, Cascarino suggests Alexander-Arnold has been the Premier League's standout performer this season.
The 21-year-old has recorded 13 assists this season from right-back. To put that into context, Ryan Giggs, the Premier League's all-time leading assist-maker, never reached that number in one season.
Given his age and his importance to arguably the greatest club side in Europe, Cascarino explains why the England full-back would've got his vote.
"I think Alexander-Arnold has had an extraordinary season," he told the Weekend Sports Breakfast.
"At 21-years old, how he's played, what he creates, some of the goals he's scored.
"He's got four goals and 13 assists, his number of crosses is just less than 400 in the Premier League this year. Those are big numbers.
"His importance to the team has been there for everybody to see.
"Van Dijk has been terrific again, but when I said Trent, he has just stood out to me."
Nevertheless, nobody would argue against Henderson claiming the individual prizes this season.
The 30-year-old joined talkSPORT yesterday to reflect on being named Football Writers' Player of the Year after years of criticism from fans.
“To be honest, I’m not too bothered," he said. "People will always criticise you throughout your career, but the most important thing for me is the team and what we have achieved together.
“We’ve achieved a lot over the past year or so and that’s the most important thing for me.
“Whether people want to recognise what I do as a footballer or not, I’m not too bothered about that, I’m only bothered about my team, the club and also England as well, and I just try and focus on my job and try to improve as a player every single year, to get better and better, and let everyone else talk about whether I’m doing a good job or not.”