A number of players who helped Liverpool to win their 20th league title last season have found themselves linked with exits from the club.
With the Reds set to take their summer spending past the £180m mark with the impending arrivals of Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez – on top of the already confirmed addition of Jeremie Frimpong – there could plausibly be a few departures to recoup funds for any further incoming activity that FSG might have in mind.
Kostas Tsimikas is one of those who’s attracting interest from elsewhere, with Nottingham Forest understood to have carried out ‘due diligence’ on the 29-year-old (Football Insider), although he doesn’t seem to be in any rush to leave Anfield.
Tsimikas ‘happy’ at Liverpool
The Liverpool defender gave an extensive interview to Sport24 in his native Greece in which he spoke of his contentment on Merseyside and satisfaction with the game-time he’s been offered despite never being a regular starter for LFC.
The Reds’ number 21 said: “I’m happy here. For five years I’ve always been happy with these players I had by my side and with the jersey I wore.
“It’s very difficult to reach such a level, to play in 27 games in a season with a Liverpool shirt. If you think about it, not all players play 50 games – some play 50, others 10, others play five. I think 27 games played on average over the last four years is a good number.
“I would definitely like to play more, but from then on in this league, with this team I was always happy and I always gave my best, so I was OK with the games I played.”
Tsimikas could still get plenty of minutes at Liverpool next season
In five years at Liverpool, Tsimikas has quietly racked up 115 appearances, which might seem surprising given that he’s never started more than nine times in a single Premier League season.
His prospects of changing that latter record appear even less likely with the impending arrival of Kerkez, but it’s not unthinkable that the Greek Scouser could again play in the region of 25 games for the Reds next term if Andy Robertson were to depart for Atletico Madrid.
Personal terms have reportedly been agreed in relation to that potential transfer for the long-serving Scot, so his fellow left-back – who Liverpool Echo journalist Ian Doyle has previously hailed as ‘fantastic’ – could still have an important part to fulfil at Anfield in the coming months.
Similar to Wataru Endo, Tsimikas seems to appreciate being a Liverpool player and accepting of his role at not being a regular starter, the kind of unselfish, team-first mentality which unfailingly strikes a chord with the fan base.
If he’s happy to stay with the Reds for the foreseeable future, then we’re happy to keep having him in Arne Slot’s squad!
