Liverpool‘s defeat against Fulham on Sunday has highlighted the need to replace left-back Andrew Robertson in the summer transfer window, according to Reds expert David Lynch.
Arne Slot‘s side lost 3-2 at Craven Cottage in their 31st Premier League game of the season, failing to capitalise on second-placed Arsenal drawing 1-1 with Everton on Saturday.
Left-back Andrew Robertson was at fault for Fulham’s second goal – surrendering possession needlessly on the edge of the box before setting up Alex Iwobi‘s strike itself – and his display has reignited debate about his place in the XI.
Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch argued that Robertson’s performance was a reminder as to why Liverpool will sign a left-back to replace him, saying: “It’s strange with Robertson – earlier in the season what we were seeing in terms of his decline was him being a second late to challenges, which is what you see a lot for players who are just getting a little bit older.
“Towards the latter half of the season is when he’s had bad moments, [making] crazy decisions and he was so reliable in that regard previously that it’s surprising to see. He’s been making some poor decisions and never more so than in that moment against Fulham where [he has] three different moments to get the ball away or make a better decision and he just doesn’t and it ends in a goal.
“There’s a reason why Liverpool are going to sign a left-back this summer – it’s a clear part of the team that you could upgrade coming into this summer because Andy Robertson just isn’t the player he used to be.”
Liverpool have frequently been linked with Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez, and his ability to rampage forward at pace makes him a good stylistic replacement for Robertson.
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Can Robertson still contribute?
It would be surprising if both left-backs at Liverpool currently – Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas – remained at Anfield beyond this season.
The duo are likely to battle for a backup position behind Slot’s first choice on the left side of defence, but it should be noted that Robertson’s contract expires in 2026 and the club may have to decide if they wish to sell the Scotsman while they still can.
However, Lynch believes that the 31-year-old could still contribute positively to Slot as long as he is used in rotation with another player, telling Sports Mole: “We saw against Everton and we have seen several times this season – as much as he’s been a conduit for criticism – he is still showing this season [that he is able to play well].
“Look where Liverpool are in the league – he’s good enough for Liverpool still. He isn’t good enough to still be the out-and-out starter next season and you want to see that place challenged with a signing, which is absolutely what we expect, but if he becomes your backup option next season, then I don’t think that’s a bad position for Liverpool to be in.
“Against Everton he showed how good he is and then against Fulham, he showed that, okay, ‘I’m not quite the player I was‘, but if you’ve had to rely on him for 20 to 25 games this season, I’m sure there’s very few games where he’d let you down as a backup option [next season]. He’s a top pro and a great person to have around the squad.”
Robertson joined Liverpool in 2017 and is on track to start 29 times or more in the league for a sixth season, and perhaps he would be able to be more consistent if his body was given more respite.
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Robertson not the only one at fault
While Robertson arguably made three errors in the build up to Fulham’s second goal, he was not the only defender to play poorly, with Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Curtis Jones all performing below their usual standards.
Perhaps Jones could be given some leniency considering he is natural midfielder, but the displays of Van Dijk and Konate were concerning, especially as they had kept three clean sheets in their prior four Premier League matches.
Lynch highlighted that the back four’s showing against Fulham was uncharacteristic and not reflective of the season as a whole when he told Sports Mole: “It was very poor and very out of character. I saw a statistic – in the first half alone they gave up four Opta-defined shots from errors, which they’ve been averaging less than one per game over the entirety of the season.
“That shows you how uncharacteristic it was and you can have days like this in the Premier League. It’s been remarkable that Liverpool have gone so long without having one of those days, [but if you do], the likelihood is that you’re going to get severely punished given the quality of the league and that’s what we saw.
“We saw a combination of really poor errors from Liverpool, but also some very good finishing from Fulham and that is the level of the league. If you are even slightly off it on any day, then you will get fully punished, but like I say, Liverpool have managed to avoid that for 26 games. It’s incredible all the way back to September, but they weren’t able to this time around.”
Liverpool have only conceded four more goals (30) in the Premier League than Arsenal, who boast the best defensive record in the top flight, but the Reds have kept the joint most clean sheets (13) in the division.
