Brendan Rodgers wants his players to use Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold as inspiration

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The Leicester City boss has recalled playing the 20-year-old in a Liverpool friendly when he was still manager at Anfield.

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers wants his players to take inspiration and learn from Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, The Leicester Mercury report.

Rodgers thinks pre-season friendlies are important, especially for young players who are looking to make their mark in the game.

He has recently used matches against Scunthorpe and Cheltenham as a chance to give some youngsters a taste of Leicester action, including Ethan Fitzhugh who is still just 16.

Citing the example of utilising a then 16-year-old Alexander-Arnold in a summer match against Swindon in 2015, the Foxes boss has told his prospects that the Liverpool man can be a benchmark they aspire to.

As quoted by The Leicester Mercury, Rodgers said: “I said to the 16-year-olds: ‘Four years ago, I took a pre-season team to Swindon and the young player I played that day was Trent Alexander-Arnold, and he’s done okay.’

“At 16 years of age, it doesn’t matter, this can be the stepping stone for you, the same with all the other young players.

“What Trent did, was use the motivation of that day to go on to be a first-team player, obviously he has gone on to do amazing.”

As always, a pinch of salt needs to be taken with Rodgers comments, it sounds suspiciously like he is taking a little bit of credit for Alexander-Arnold’s development despite leaving Anfield shortly after said friendly.

However, he does have a point. Summer friendlies can often be the only chance teenagers and fringe players get to play alongside senior stars in an organised match setting.

Taking that chance and standing out can be the start of a path towards training more regularly with the first-team, appearing on the bench and even gaining competitive appearances.

Alexander-Arnold’s rise should be motivation of young players at every club. He’s a Champions League winner at the age of 20 and it’s his attitude and work ethic that has helped him get to that level as much as his talent.

In Rodgers, Leicester do have a manager that will put his faith into young players if they are good enough. It was a hallmark of his spell at Celtic. That can only be a benefit to the Foxes’ long-term ambitions.