Liverpool boss refuses to rule out summer U-turn.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has refused to rule out a shock U-turn over the future of Scotland captain Andy Robertson after his crucial strike in the 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.
The 32-year-old left-back scored his first goal at Anfield for 720 days as Liverpool overcame a stubborn Crystal Palace side thanks to first-half goals from himself and Alexander Isak, coupled with an injury-time strike from Florian Wirtz. Now level on points with Manchester United in third, Slot’s side are hoping to end a difficult campaign on a high by securing Champions League qualification.
Confirming that he would be departing the Merseyside giants after nine trophy-laden seasons at the club last month, several reports stated that Robertson had already agreed to move to English Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur. However, with the North London outfit in danger of relegation and currently in 18th position, Slot was asked if the Scotland captain could have a chance of the heart and stay with the club.
Could Robertson have a change of heart and stay at Liverpool?placeholder image
Could Robertson have a change of heart and stay at Liverpool? | Getty Images
“I don’t think it’s the moment to talk about that,” he told beIN Sports. “I think it’s the moment to talk about how important his goal was and how important the win for the team was. The fans appreciate him a lot and he appreciates the club and the fans a lot as well. Let’s see what the future brings, but this moment in time should be all about his goal, because he doesn’t score that many of them.
“We kept on fighting until the end and even scored for 3-1. So, [the] bad luck we've had many times this season, usually it ends up in us dropping points but not today. That's a very positive thing. If you just look at the performance of both teams, I think Palace deserved to come back into the game because they were playing a good game, they were close to scoring goals, the margins were really small.”
The experienced defender had also been linked with moves to Celtic, Atletico Madrid and Napoli following his decision to part ways with Liverpool. However, many supporters are now calling for Robertson to have a chance of heart and stay at the club with Milos Kerkez, who was signed for £40million from AFC Bournemouth in the summer, yet to fully convince at Anfield.
Robertson’s third start in the last four games since confirming he would be leaving the club on the expiry of his contract this summer, Slot had previously limited him to just 15 league starts this term. Referring to him as a “great person” last month, the Dutch head coach said, “First of all, he has many great seasons over here as a player, but I got to know him as a great person. Every teammate of his will tell you how funny he is, and how great a person he is.”
Andy Robertson is expected to lead Scotland out at this summer's World Cup in North America.placeholder image
Andy Robertson is expected to lead Scotland out at this summer's World Cup in North America. | SNS Group
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Becoming the national team’s second most-capped men's player of all time when he reached 92 caps in March’s 1-0 friendly defeat to the Ivory Coast, Robertson is expected to lead Steve Clarke’s side out at the World Cup in the United States this summer, where they will face Haiti, Morocco, and Brazil in Group C of the tournament.
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