As the 2024-25 season began winding down, it quickly became clear that Liverpool would be in the market to sign a left back in the summer transfer window, with Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez quickly establishing himself as the favourite.
The question then became what would happen to starter Andy Robertson and backup Kostas Tsimikas. Most assumed Tsimikas, widely seen as good enough to start at most other clubs, would move on while Robertson competed for minutes with Kerkez.
Recent reports of Atletico Madrid interest in Robertson have hinted at another path. And now Tsimikas has opened up about his role at Liverpool and his belief that it may be better to be a backup with the Reds than a starter somewhere else.
“For me, 27 games here are worth more than 40 for another team in another league,” Tsimikas noted in a wide-ranging interview with Greece’s Sport24. “I’m on the Broadway of football here. So it’s always a temptation to play more, but I’m happy.
“For five years I’ve been happy. It’s difficult to reach the level where you play 27 games a season in a Liverpool shirt. I would like to play more, but with this team I was always happy and I always gave my best, so I was okay with the games I played.”
In the end, it’s not yet certain what Liverpool’s left back situation will look like next season. Kerkez will, it seems certain, arrive soon. One of Robertson or Tsimikas, it seems equally certain, will depart to make room for the 21-year-old Hungarian.
Unlike a month ago when it seemed fairly clear it would be Robertson staying and Tsimikas moving on to play 40 games a season with another team in another league, now it could well be the Greek international who competes for time with Kerkez.
Even if that’s not how it goes, Tsimikas continues to make a habit of finding ways to endear himself to Liverpool fans—and more than that, it is a fair question. Do you take a squad role with the English champions, or a star role somewhere mid-table?