Andy Robertson’s future took another potential twist on Saturday as he came on at half-time during Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat against Bournemouth.
The Scot has moved suddenly towards the Anfield exit door this weekend after negotiations advanced over a surprise move to Tottenham.
Robertson’s desire to leave Liverpool comes off the back of a period where he has been demoted to second choice for the first time since his opening months at the club.
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Who was Liverpool’s worst player as they fell to a pathetic loss against Bournemouth?
Mohamed Salah chases the ball during Liverpool's Premier League match against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium
Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images
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Milos Kerkez has stepped up in his place, and has recently delivered the kind of performances Robertson in his pomp would have been proud of.
That did not continue on Saturday, however, as Kerkez was hauled off at half-time against former club Bournemouth, with Robertson brought on. With rumours swirling around the left-back situation, Arne Slot was asked whether Kerkez’s withdrawal was injury related.
Milos Kerkez taken off to manage workload
If Kerkez had picked up a problem at the Vitality Stadium, then that would cast Robertson’s potential move to Spurs in a whole new light.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, however, Slot confirmed that Kerkez was simply being managed having played a lot of football recently, and the early injury to Joe Gomez impacted the timing of his substitution.
Milos Kerkez of Liverpool applauds supporters at the Stade Velodrome after the UEFA Champions League match against Marseille
Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
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“No, there is not an injury. I wouldn’t say it was tactical, it was obvious already before the game that it was not smart to play another 90 [minutes],” said Slot.
“The players I constantly play, I have to keep them fit, I have to manage their load. It was yesterday when performance staff came to me and said if we had an extra day he wouldn’t have trained yesterday to recover a little bit more, so then you’re always in a certain risk zone.
“I already had to make a substitution in the first-half, so that means if you leave him on and take him out after 60 minutes your second substitution is left. That’s why I decided to take him off at half-time because it was always the intention to take him off somewhere in the second-half and I did it now a little bit earlier.”
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Virgil van Dijk passes the ball during Liverpool's Premier League match against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium (Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC).
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Liverpool FC
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Slot responds to Andy Robertson exit question
Slot was noticeably a little more bristly than usual during his post-match questions on Saturday, and gave particularly short shrift to a question about Robertson’s potential departure.
“What do you think my answer is going to be?” the Liverpool head coach asked the reporter, clearly irritated.
“Have I ever said anything about transfers in front of this microphone? No. So, my answer is always the same. It’s quite boring to always give the same answer. By the way, my press conferences after the game are always constantly the same!
“The answer is we don’t talk about transfers in public, not as long as there’s something to say.”
When there is something to say, it seems likely that it will be to confirm Robertson’s agonising exit to a Premier League rival.
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