Liverpool may have all but confirmed one player’s departure as Arne Slot completely snubbed him from Sunday’s Community Shield matchday squad. Although there are one or two positions the Reds could bolster before the transfer window slams shut, there are also departments which have become overcrowded.
Left-back is one of those areas. Andy Robertson has been Liverpool’s starter for the past eight seasons but he has found himself on the fringes since the younger, fresher £40million recruit Milos Kerkez landed on Merseyside. And that has left Robertson’s understudy, Kostas Tsimikas, completely out in the cold.
Tsimikas wasn’t even named on the bench for the penalty-shootout defeat to Crystal Palace in the Community Shield. Kerkez started the match and made way for Robertson with only a few minutes to go, as Slot’s left-back pecking order becomes increasingly clear.
With no clear route into the starting XI for Tsimikas, it seems as though his exit is now an inevitability. According to The Times, Liverpool would only consider selling him permanently at this stage of the window.
The Greek international has two years left on his contract, and at 29 years old, the Reds could still bank a reasonable fee by moving him on. The same report states that Nottingham Forest made enquiries about Tsimikas earlier in the window, while there has been interest from other clubs in England and abroad.
Tsimikas has been unable to displace Robertson throughout his five years at Anfield and he has never managed to notch more than 20 appearances in a Premier League season. To date he has amassed 115 Liverpool matches without scoring.
Much of the recent transfer noise surrounding the Reds has involved their pursuit of Alexander Isak, who Newcastle United are desperately trying to keep hold of. But Slot suggested, after watching his side ship two goals against Palace, that their shortcomings are actually at the other end of the pitch.
“Our attacking play looks better than last season,” he told TNT Sports. “On the other hand we conceded two goals, we need to be better defensively. Our first goal was a very good team goal and a good example of how creative we can be, that will only get better.
“But I think if you want to compete to win the league, one of the main things is not conceding goals or chances and we have to improve on that.”