Andy Robertson is Liverpool’s third longest-serving current player (having joined a month after Mo Salah in 2017), but might he have already played his final game for the Reds?
Fabrizio Romano reported last weekend that Atletico Madrid have already entered into discussions over a potential swoop for the 31-year-old, with the Italian transfer guru subsequently indicating that the left-back won’t make any decision on his future until after his summer holidays.
Our number 26 could see his game-time diminished significantly if he stays at Anfield, with the Premier League champions expected to clinch the signing of Milos Kerkez in the next week, and one insider has now outlined how the prospective exit of the long-serving Scot is being viewed internally in L4.
Robertson open to Atletico move and Liverpool won’t stand in his way
Ex-Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown – who remains well-connected within the game – has claimed that Robertson won’t join another Premier League club out of respect for Liverpool but would be open to signing for Atletico, a move which could receive his current employers’ blessing.
He told Football Insider: “They’ve been looking to replace Robertson. I think Kerkez is a top-class option; he’ll go to Liverpool and start every week. That opens the door for Robertson to leave and there’s going to be a fair bit of interest, because a few Premier League clubs had considered a move.
“He’s very much now a Liverpool player in that he’s really bought into the club. He’s got that connection with the fans and the club, and I can’t see him wanting to go and play for another Premier League side at this stage.
“From what I hear, he wants to make that move to Atletico Madrid. There’s interest there and Liverpool are willing to let him go, so it’s one to watch.”
Robertson would be a huge loss to Liverpool
Brown also claimed for Football Insider that either Robertson or Kostas Tsimikas will leave Anfield this summer – the question is, which one?
We certainly wouldn’t blame the Scotland captain for being tempted by the opportunity to play for Atletico, both from a professional and a lifestyle sense, and his apparent reluctance to go straight from Liverpool to another Premier League side attests to his class.
It’d also be understandable if he’d find it difficult to accept the firm possibility of being a backup player for the Reds if he were to stay put, with Kerkez likely to come in as an immediate starter for Arne Slot, but he’d still be an enormous loss to the champions.
His influence in acting as a mentor for the Hungarian – and for other young players in the LFC dressing room – would be massive if he stays at the club, just as James Milner had a crucial behind-the-scenes role within the squad even after he’d lost his place in Jurgen Klopp’s regular starting XI.
Liverpool are unlikely to stand in Robertson’s way if he wants to take the opportunity to play in the Spanish capital, but we cling to the hope that he’ll ultimately decide to either see out the final year of his contract at Anfield or even extend his stay beyond that.
