Trent Alexander-Arnold has family connections to Manchester United – and could have ended up calling Alex Ferguson granddad.
The Liverpool whizkid’s nan was referred to in the legendary boss’ autobiography as his “first steady girlfriend”.
But the happy couple – who dated as Glasgow teens – broke up and Alexander-Arnold’s maternal grandmother Doreen Carling moved to New York and married.
That union means the Liverpool-born defender can play for the USA.
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Ferguson once asked Alexander-Arnold why he had not tried to join United, where his uncle John Alexander was a long-serving club secretary, instead.
And the reply, revealed in the New York Times, was: “My mum doesn’t drive on motorways.”
Former United academy manager Brian McClair shed more light on Alexander-Arnold’s choice.
Of the in-demand teen – also wanted by Manchester City and Chelsea – he said: “We saw him when he was playing outside right in an Under-14s game at Carrington for Liverpool.
“I thought, he’s a good player, who’s he?
“Even though his uncle was the secretary, you knew you weren’t going to get him. So we were never going to get him.
“His sister is a Liverpool fan, the family were all Liverpool fans, he wasn’t going to leave Liverpool. It was a simple message.
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“You can’t say to John Alexander ‘Get into your sister’ because she only knows the answer.
“It’s great for him that he’s got a nephew who is playing for Liverpool.”