Liverpool starlet Trent Alexander-Arnold has signed his first professional contract with the club.

Alexander-Arnold, who is 17 today, captains the Reds' Under-18 side and made his first-team debut in a pre-season friendly at Swindon Town earlier this year.

The deal caps an exciting few days for the young midfielder, who was named in the England U17 World Cup squad ahead of the tournament in Chile later this month, before being cited by The Guardian as one of the top 20 talents at Premier League clubs in an article published yesterday.

The 17-year-old, who was born in Liverpool, has also been backed to succeed at the club by Reds' legend Steven Gerrard, who handed him the captain's armband during an U18s game which Gerrard was using to build his match fitness last season.

"It was my way of telling Trent that I believed he could make it for Liverpool one day," Gerrard wrote in his autobiography.

Alexander-Arnold netted a brace as Liverpool U18s thrashed their Manchester United counterparts 4-0 at Carrington on Saturday.