The value of veterans has been evident at top clubs in recent years, and Liverpool would be wise to carefully consider the effect on the squad of losing Andy Robertson.
Youth or experience? Hunger or know-how? Energy or expertise?
Conventional wisdom says that you need a bit of both to be a successful football team, but every side leans closer to one extreme or the other – it is impossible to stay in the middle.
Liverpool have tried to maintain that balance, re-signing a pair of 33-year-olds in Mo Salah and Virgil Van Dijk for next season, while already adding four players aged 24 and under to the squad.
That quartet represents the future of the club, but in the present, it could mean that some of Liverpool’s most celebrated performers will be consigned to the past.
Andy Robertson is at a crossroads
Robertson has emerged as a transfer target for Atletico Madrid, and reports suggest that the Scotland captain is open to the possibility of joining his good friend Trent Alexander-Arnold in the Spanish capital.
He has one year remaining on his current contract and while he has spoken about discussing a new deal with the club, that currently feels like an unlikely outcome.
The prospect of spending his final year at Anfield as back-up for Milos Kerkez may not appeal to a proud footballer who still believes in his ability to compete at Champions League level.
There are many who wouldn’t agree with that assessment. Last season showed clear signs that Robertson was no longer in his prime.
He was given a torrid time by Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka in back-to-back league games in October, before conceding two penalties in a week against Southampton and Real Madrid in November. By the time of his red card against Fulham in December, the calls for a new left-back among the fanbase were impossible to ignore.
And yet, Arne Slot picked him for the next league game at Tottenham and he retained his status as starting left-back until the Premier League was won.
In total, Robertson started 35 out of a possible 48 games across the Premier League and Champions League, and he was granted the responsibility to lead an inexperienced side in Eindhoven from the unfamiliar position of centre-back. There is no doubt that he retained the trust of his head coach.
Liverpool must weigh up their options
For sporting director Richard Hughes and the key decision-makers, it is a difficult decision as to what represents the best value.
Is it better to remove a high wage earner and get a fee, even a ‘small’ one, for someone who could leave for nothing in 12 months?
Or should they keep a key member of the playing squad and the leadership group, a man who knows what it takes to win and retains a strong influence among the younger players?
The value of veterans is a topic debated across all team sports and goes beyond what they produce on the pitch.
It also encompasses providing leadership across a long, perilous season, maintaining standards in training and cultivating a culture that makes new members feel like part of the group and therefore able to give their best.
These intangibles are impossible to definitively assess and, as a result, there are a multitude of differing examples.
NBA star Udonis Haslem spent 20 years with the Miami Heat, winning three championships alongside LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. However, for the final seven seasons of his career, he didn’t play more than 16 out of 82 regular-season games.
His role was as the ambassador for ‘Heat Culture’, enforcing their strict guidelines within the locker room and on the team plane in the moments and spaces where the coaches had no influence.
Haslem was seen by all as integral to teams that reached the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023, despite barely stepping on the court.
The closest we’ve seen to Haslem in the Premier League is Scott Carson.
The former Liverpool, Leeds and Derby goalkeeper spent six seasons at Man City as third-choice goalkeeper, and he became a popular member of the squad that won four consecutive league titles as well as the treble in 2022/23, all while making just one solitary appearance.
His dedication on the training pitch, the motivation of those he knew would stop him from seeing action and his innate ability to lighten the mood were vital not only to those at the elite level, but according to Pep Guardiola, he was the perfect role model for young players looking to reach those heights.
“The best advice I could give to the young players is to stay around Scott Carson as much as possible in the locker room and on the pitch,” Guardiola said in 2022.
“It would be better than being with me. It’s like the young actors have to be with the old actors on the set. They are wiser and have the values of the profession.”
Wataru Endo’s role as a ‘closer’ has its merits
Liverpool have benefited from similar qualities from their former third goalkeeper Adrian, who was given a new deal at a time when he was unlikely to get more game time.
There is an even more recent example in Wataru Endo. Thirty-four starts in Klopp’s final season turned into just seven in 2024/25, as he was reduced to the position of the closer, tasked with protecting a lead in 10-minute cameos.
In a World Cup year, it would be understandable if the captain of Japan wanted to feature more often, but Endo has already ended any speculation about a potential departure this summer.
The 32-year-old channelled any disappointment in his demotion into motivation to be a star in his role, saying (h/t Soccer Digest): “In the professional world, you have to show the meaning of your existence.
“I don’t think people would call me a closer if I had entered the game with 10 minutes left and conceded every time.”
That level of pride in your work is infectious and at a big club like Liverpool, where there will be talented players who aren’t getting the minutes they feel they deserve, a man like Endo is crucial to retain squad harmony.
“But what about the other side of pride, when your pride doesn’t allow you to accept a role on the bench, particularly after years as a starter?
Jordan Henderson was widely praised for his leadership qualities, but when the moment came to step aside into the shadows, he asked to leave. Unlike his able deputy James Milner, he felt he couldn’t hide his individual frustrations for the good of the collective.
Liverpool’s rivals are taking varying approaches
In some cases, it may be beneficial if your reserves are young and hungry rather than old and disgruntled – that’s certainly the opinion at Stamford Bridge.
The transfer policy of the owners, Clearlake Capital, is to fill the squad with talented youngsters. Last season, none of the 29 players who took to the field in the Premier League were over the age of 29. The only man in his 30s at the club, Marcus Bettinelli, has just been sold to Manchester City.
For their part, Man City are at the other end of the spectrum, with nine players in their 30s featuring, although only Ederson, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva can be considered integral.
Many of those nine have been rumoured to be on the move, with Kevin De Bruyne having already departed. However, Bernardo has just been named club captain, so there will be some totems of success still in place.
According to most observers, Man City failed last season because they were too old. Chelsea’s title challenge fell apart because they had no experienced head to guide them through the tough times.
Liverpool, with five players over the age of 30, and Endo the only one not to break the 3000-minute barrier, appear to have got the balance just right, but as the Robertson rumours prove, it is a perpetual problem.
