Ask the majority, if not all, of Liverpool fans ahead of the summer transfer window and there will have been a consensus on their two priorities: defensive midfield and a new left-sided defender.
By Jack Lusby, ThisIsAnfield.com
While the Reds’ failed attempts to address the former, with the pursuit of Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, presented an unlikely, world-class solution in Ryan Gravenberch, the same cannot be said of the latter.
Two-and-a-half months into the season and question marks around Andy Robertson‘s position as first-choice left-back are only growing.
Robertson was run ragged by Bukayo Saka in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal last weekend – including for the winger’s opener after just nine minutes – before being replaced by Kostas Tsimikas with just over an hour on the clock.
And with the Scot then one of only three players to keep his starting spot in a heavily rotated side for the 3-2 win over Brighton in the Carabao Cup fourth round three days later, there is a belief that Tsimikas has already taken his spot for the weekend’s more important fixture at Anfield.
Unlike Curtis Jones and Luis Díaz – also retained for the trip to the Amex – Robertson was the only player deployed in his natural position – in other words, not starting out of necessity – and he did so for the full 90 minutes.
While the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo were brought off, likely with a place in the side on Saturday – also against Brighton, this time in the Premier League – in mind, Robertson wore the captain’s armband throughout.
Logic and the principles of squad management suggest that the 30-year-old will be on the bench at Anfield with Tsimikas given a chance in his place.
There can be little arguing against dropping Robertson based on recent performances, and Arne Slot has shown already in his short spell in charge that he is not averse to making such swift, cutthroat decisions.
During pre-season it took mere minutes on the pitch for Slot to deduce that Wataru Endo would not be part of his regular midfield plans, while a half against Ipswich on the opening day of the season saw Jarell Quansah demoted for Ibrahima Konaté at centre-back.
Not only did Robertson struggle against Arsenal, but he was exploited by the pace and direct running of Chelsea’s Noni Madueke and Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey in other recent outings.
Though he is still only 30 and therefore relatively young compared to many of his full-back peers – Brighton’s Joel Veltman (32), Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne (31) and Nottingham Forest’s Alex Moreno (31) are all older – there is a sense that workload has caught up with Liverpool’s No. 26.
Refer back to a quote from Jürgen Klopp back in 2020, when Liverpool’s then-manager said: “Robbo and Trent, let’s say, they cannot play every season 50-something games – it would limit their careers, to be honest, even when they come through.”
Inclusive of that 2020/21 campaign, in the four full seasons since Robertson has played 170 times for Liverpool and, owing to his importance as captain, a further 35 for Scotland; an average of 51.3 appearances per season.
In terms of minutes played, Robertson has been among the top six most-used players for Liverpool in each of the five full campaigns since he claimed duties as first-choice left-back from James Milner.
No player clocked more minutes than the former Hull defender in 2020/21 – ironic given Klopp’s comments of preserving his fitness immediately prior and even more so given the German was explaining the role new arrival Tsimikas would play in aiding this.
It can certainly be argued that Robertson’s workload has only begun to be managed more carefully as he begins to pick up more frequent injury problems, most notably a hamstring issue that bothered him for months after first picking it up on Scotland duty in March.
Whether it has now taken its toll, or it is simply a false dawn and the No. 26 will regain top form soon enough, remains to be seen, but there are few doubts over the need to test other options.
To that end, it is noteworthy that Tsimikas was one Slot’s four most-used players throughout pre-season and has shown promising signs when called upon in the campaign proper.
The Greek was particularly impressive in the 1-0 win away to RB Leipzig in the Champions League, coming in his fourth start of the season, with his whipped delivery headed down by Mohamed Salah for Darwin Núñez‘s winning goal.
He was similarly strong in the 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace in the league, while there was a sharpness to his game in parts of the 3-1 win over AC Milan in Europe and 5-1 thrashing of West Ham in the Carabao Cup.
Tsimikas offers a determined quality attacking down the left flank that Robertson has not shown often under Slot, and he is behind only Salah (4.57), Díaz (4.53), Gakpo (4.48) and Alexis Mac Allister (3.42) for shot-creating actions per 90 in all competitions (3.32).
Similarly, Tsimikas is bettered only by Slot’s five regular starting attackers when it comes to goal-creating actions per 90, with his rate of 0.55 higher than Trent Alexander-Arnold (0.46) and, tellingly, Robertson (zero).
Of course, though, this is based on a considerably smaller sample size than those he is compared to – and when it comes to the 28-year-old signed from Olympiakos, the eye test is imperative.
‘Prove them wrong’, Slot can tell him, but in his four seasons and counting at the club Tsimikas has shown far from the level of consistency required to be Liverpool’s first-choice left-back.
That was evident against AC Milan in particular, with an early mistake allowing Christian Pulisic to open the scoring after just three minutes.
A steady run of games should see that improve, of course, but Slot has already acknowledged the existing pecking order having limited Tsimikas to just four starts so far this season.
Most likely is that any change to the left-hand side of his defence will be more of a stopgap than a long-term solution, with that solution almost certainly coming in the transfer market.
It will be a sad day when Liverpool do eventually replace Robertson with a younger, more durable model, and with his contract due to expire in 2026, it may come sooner rather than later.
Those fans calling for reinforcements on the left flank have already seen tough decisions made with other favourites from Klopp’s successful era such as Roberto Firmino, Fabinho and Gini Wijnaldum.
And while the hope will be that Robertson can rekindle his fortunes and keep it burning for years to come, it may be a reality those supporters have to accept once again before long.
(Images from IMAGO)
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