TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
Plenty of 20-year-olds are usually getting drunk, experimenting with drugs, sleeping with anything they can get their hands on or burning money faster than they make it. That isn’t the case for Trent Alexander-arnold, the Liverpool right-back who has become a footballing sensation since making his senior debut in October 2016, even inviting comparisons with the legendary Cafu. When Steven Gerrard – then coaching the Liverpool youth team – announced Alexander-arnold as a future superstar, we should have listened. Because, despite what Martin Tyler may think, TAA can attack and defend – and he has single-handedly made it cool to be a full-back.
It’s not just that he is a Champions League winner and the youngest player ever to start in consecutive Champions League finals (not to mention a World Cup semi-finalist to boot), all before his 21st birthday. TAA is also on the verge of doing something even trickier than Liverpool winning the Premier League: being a stylish footballer off the pitch.
For whatever reason, footballers love the idea of wearing expensive things. This is fine in theory. Unfortunately, they tend to wear everything all at once. In comparison, TAA’S minimal approach to clothes is a massive relief, giving the impression that he’s about quality more than quantity. And just as refreshingly, he isn’t desperate to emulate David Beckham, the man who started the football fashion rat race – except no one has come close to Beckham’s style influence since his sarong-wearing antics nearly 20 years ago.
When he’s not in his training gear, Trent’s outfits are usually well considered. Sure, there’s the odd mishap – the footballer’s staple item of the over-distressed jean, for example – but overall the future for him looks very promising. When you can wear a pink polo shirt and shorts and still get close to 400,000 likes on Instagram, then you are winning.
Right now, the fact that TAA has such appeal hasn’t gone unnoticed: there are whisperings of certain designer brands watching carefully and preparing to pounce. Becoming a brand is key for any young footballer, so it’s of no surprise the word on the street is that there’ll be a clothing collection soon from TAA.
Obviously, imperative to the success of such a move will be not only the quality of the clothing, but more importantly the marketing of the brand. Kids are spending more money on clothes than ever before, and parents are willing to fund their child for the reward of bragging rights. If Alexander-arnold can tap into that market, he could be looking at a very successful label – something no footballer has ever managed to achieve.