Who are the most commercially appealing players in the England squad? You’d probably get through several names before arriving at Trent Alexander-Arnold, but the Liverpool defender is set to sign a boot deal which will make him one of the hottest properties in Gareth Southgate’s group.
It is, perhaps, a reflection of the lack of global stars — Harry Kane aside — in the England set-up these days, an absence of egos that helped engender the togetherness which saw them reconnect with the nation and reach the World Cup semi-finals last year.
But it is also an indication of the meteoric rise Alexander-Arnold has enjoyed at Liverpool, becoming an integral part of Jurgen Klopp’s side as they challenge for Premier League and Champions League success.
These are early days, however. He remains at a formative stage of his career, particularly at international level, and yet this column understands his imminent deal with Under Armour is set to be worth £1.6million a year for the next four seasons.
That agreement, a tenfold increase on his previous deal, will catapult Alexander-Arnold (below) into the upper echelons of England’s top earners in that field, surpassed only by Kane and one or two others, depending on who you talk to.
In pictures | England training | 19/03/2019
There is no doubting Alexander-Arnold’s ability, but it is nevertheless a remarkable remuneration package for a 20-year right-back with only five international caps to his name.
It is understood that his club colleague, Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool’s talismanic centre-back and among the favourites to win the PFA Player of the Year and Football Writers Association’s Footballer of the Year gongs, has a boot deal with Nike worth considerably less.
Boot deals are, of course, not the only barometer of success or financial value. Identifying the marketability of footballers is not an exact science, but social media followings play a big part, particularly Instagram, and Alexander Arnold’s 1.3m audience is dwarfed by many other players, including Kane (7.9m), Marcus Rashford (6.7m), Dele Alli (6.2m) and Jesse Lingard (6.2m).
All four players benefit from the effect one sports marketer describes as the “local boy done good”. Small gestures receive big publicity through the power of Facebook and Twitter: take Lingard’s recent gesture after costing a group of Wimbledon fans £500 by missing a penalty on Sky Sport’s Soccer AM programme. He was filmed later in the car park doling out £600 of his own money by way of an apology. The short video went viral.
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As part of his Under Armour deal, Alexander-Arnold is believed to be keen on ensuring some of the money is diverted towards buying some land in Liverpool and turning the area into facilities for the local community.
The power players have in driving sales is remarkable. A test with one England player used to front a campaign across 289 Sports Direct shops throughout Europe late last year was said to yield a 260 per cent increase in sales during the three-week period that promotion ran.
In Alexander-Arnold’s case, clearly everything depends on fulfilling his potential over the coming years to maintain his present upward curve and, for the time being, the risk would be in overloading him with commercial agreements that could later prove a distraction.
He appears determined to be selective, so far only aligning himself on a permanent basis with Under Armour and Kaspersky, a Russian cybersecurity company which afforded him the opportunity to play chess against reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen last October.
Alexander-Arnold was beaten in 17 moves — Microsoft founder Bill Gates lasted nine — but the experience allowed him to fulfil a childhood dream, having taken up the game aged eight.
There’s plenty of time for him to become a Grand Master.
What’s remarkable is how he is already no longer just a pawn.