Richard Hughes Sporting Director of Liverpool during the first Arne Slot press conference at AXA Training Centre on July 05, 2024 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)placeholder image
Richard Hughes Sporting Director of Liverpool during the first Arne Slot press conference at AXA Training Centre on July 05, 2024 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images) | Liverpool FC via Getty Images
It is a summer of change at Anfield, however, one player Liverpool should be keeping around is Andy Robertson.
There are few phones on Merseyside that will be hotter than Richard Hughes’ is at the moment as he wheels and deals to build a Liverpool squad capable of sustained success.
It has been a near-faultless window so far with the additions being made all either adding something different or even being an upgrade on the players that they are potentially replacing.
Liverpool face key Andy Robertson decision after Atletico Madrid update
It is a summer of change at Anfield, however, one player Liverpool should be keeping around is Andy Robertson.
Last season saw the respective futures of three Liverpool greats as the subject of speculation with Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk signing new contracts to make recruitment that little bit easier. There are another couple of key contracts that need to be sorted though and Hughes could be making his first mistake of the summer with one poorly judged call.
Milos Kerkez is signing for £40m, give or take, and isn’t being brought to Liverpool to sit on the bench, he is very much the here and now of the left-back position, all of which has thrown Andy Robertson’s future into doubt.
For Hughes, this would be the best possible outcome. The 31-year old was available for pretty much every game last season, his levels might be what they once were, but sharing the role with Kerkez could keep him sharper. There is no real financial benefit to selling Robertson too and his presence in the dressing room and on the training ground could be invaluable.
There is going to be a lot of change, a lot of new faces and younger players arriving at Liverpool this summer, they will need players like Robertson to help them settle and to make sure that they understand the standards needed to be a success. It is one thing doing well for Bournemouth, but Bournemouth aren’t expected to win every week. At Liverpool players are only as good as their last pass, never mind their last game.
Jurgen Klopp influence on Robertson is key for next generation
Speaking on the BBC Daily Football Podcast, Robertson and Alisson Becker were speaking about the Champions League success of 2019 and the influence of Jurgen Klopp with the former giving an insight into how the environment of the whole club is important towards the team on the pitch getting success.
“No, I just think he was probably quite a loving person,” Robertson said when asked why Klopp appeared so charismatic. “He was just going about the training ground giving hugs. The players probably didn't get it as much, maybe just before games and then if you're coming off in games or whatever.
“But yeah, I just think that's the person that he was. He wanted to create a good atmosphere. He wanted everyone to feel a part of it at that time.
“And I think obviously going into the training ground was a good place to go. Everyone, you could see everyone was highly motivated, whether that was the players, whether that was the physios, whether that was the chefs, whatever it was, he made you feel important. And I think that's what created a really special atmosphere.
“Everyone was happy going into work and I think that's what made it such a good workplace at that time. And yeah, I think he was the head of that and he was a large factor why that was possible and why that kind of happened.”
Klopp’s influence on Liverpool was huge and it will have rubbed off on players like Robertson. There might be a new manager, but it is the players who set the tone behind the scenes and the Scot’s influence is so much more than what he is capable of doing at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon.
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