Andy Robertson will return to Anfield for the first time since his emotional exit from Liverpool when Tottenham visit for a Carabao Cup third-round tie on Tuesday
Andy Robertson joined Tottenham from Liverpool during the summer
Andy Robertson joined Tottenham from Liverpool during the summer(Image: Getty Images)
Andy Robertson returns to Liverpool for the first time since his emotional summer departure when Tottenham travels to Anfield on Tuesday for a Carabao Cup third-round game.
Yet the modern-day Reds icon is being earmarked for a permanent comeback to the club where he secured eight major trophies during a nine-year spell — in the manager's dugout. Robertson remains far from retirement, and his decision to leave Liverpool stemmed from a desire to secure more playing time after being displaced by Milos Kerkez during his final season on Merseyside.
The Scotland skipper has featured from the start in three of struggling Tottenham's four Premier League fixtures this campaign and has numbered among the team's standout performers.
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Fellow Scot Alan Hutton believes Robertson could still prove valuable to Liverpool, while predicting the left-back will transition into management once his trophy-laden playing days conclude.
"Could we see Andy Robertson return to Liverpool as manager someday or take the Scotland or Celtic jobs? I think he can go on and do that if he wants to," the former Spurs and Aston Villa right-back said.
"He has always been a student of the game for as long as I've known him. I was just doing what I needed to do before leaving for the day, whereas he would be there, in training, asking questions constantly.
Robertson is expected to play for Tottenham on Tuesday
Robertson is expected to play for Tottenham on Tuesday(Image: Getty Images)
"He wanted to know why we were doing this a certain way, what were the reasons for setting up the team how we were for the next game, why do we want to do that.
"And anybody that's like that, inquisitive about the game to that level, with their team and with themselves, is on that path to becoming a manager eventually. He's got all the attributes to take on a job like that after he finishes and builds up his coaching career."
Liverpool opted against recruiting a replacement for Robertson, instead relying on the returning Kostas Tsimikas, who endured a difficult outing in Saturday's goalless stalemate with Fulham at Anfield, to provide backup and challenge first-choice Kerkez, who has yet to match the impressive displays he delivered for Bournemouth.
Speaking to BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest Premier League odds, Hutton remarked: "I am very surprised Liverpool allowed Andy Robertson to leave for nothing. I believe he's still at an age where he's got so much more to give.
"Experience counts for a lot, even in that Liverpool team. It doesn't matter how much money they've spent. You still need players who understand what it's like to win, and what it takes to play for a club like Liverpool, with the level of expectations from the manager, the crowd, the community, and everything that goes along with it.
"To allow the situation to develop where he can leave on a free was a strange decision by Liverpool.
"Andy Robertson coming in is a massive opportunity for Spurs, and I think he'll help because they have lost that sort of leader for the last couple of years within that dressing room. I've played with Andy. I know what he's like. He demands the best from everyone around him every day, and I'm sure he'll be doing exactly that at Tottenham."
Tottenham heads to Anfield on the back of a goalless stalemate against Everton on Saturday, a result that extended the team's winless run in the Premier League to four matches, during which it has failed to find the net. Head coach Roberto De Zerbi has hinted he could make 11 changes for the clash with the Reds, which would mean Robertson starting on the bench.