Liverpool defender Andy Robertson is reportedly ‘living out his final months’ as a Reds player with his contract expiring at the end of the season.
The Premier League champions have begun their defence of their title in perfect form with four wins out of four to start their new season.
Not all of the performances have been convincing but Arne Slot could have hardly wished for a better start after adding eight new faces in the summer.
As well as two back-up goalkeepers, Liverpool brought in Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giovanni Leoni.
After a mixed start to his time at Liverpool, Kerkez was taken off in the first half of their 1-0 win over Burnley after picking up an early yellow card for diving.
That left the Hungary international vulnerable to picking up a second booking with the Clarets looking particularly effective on the counter-attack and Slot brought Robertson on.
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Kerkez could now have lost his place to Robertson for the time being with the Scotland international starting their 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.
But Spanish website Fichajes has claimed that Robertson is ‘living out his final months’ as a Liverpool player with his contract expiring at the end of next June.
The Scot’s ”future points to a change of scenery, and Spain appears to be a very likely destination’ and he ‘could join’ La Liga side Atletico Madrid.
The Spanish side, ‘which already explored his arrival in the summer transfer window, remains the best-placed club to secure his services’.
Fichajes adds: ‘Since he becomes a free agent in just a few months, he will be able to negotiate with any team starting in January, something the Red and Whites want to take advantage of to complete his signing without a transfer fee.
‘At Liverpool, the emergence of Milos Kerkez has transformed the landscape on the left side of the defense. Andrew Robertson, who was always a regular starter under Klopp , has seen his participation reduced in the first half of the season.’
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Former Manchester United and Tottenham chief scout Mick Brown’s prediction that Kerkez could now find it hard to get back in front of Robertson at Liverpool could be accurate.
Brown told Football Insider after the Burnley match: “Kerkez is going to struggle to get back into the team now.
“The manager made that decision to take him off during the first half, and it was probably the right one because he was at risk of getting sent off.
“But if you’re putting the manager in a position where he has to make that call, he’s not going to be happy with your performance.
“Robertson would be the first-choice left-back for the majority of clubs in the Premier League, and he’ll be keen to make his mark and come back into the starting XI.
“I thought when Kerkez was going to Liverpool that he would be a top-class replacement for him.
“By no means is he a bad player, he’s obviously top quality and they rate him highly at Liverpool, but this is what you need at top clubs in the modern game.
“Players need to know that if they make a mistake or they’re not up to scratch, there’s somebody waiting in the wings to replace them, it’s a bit of healthy competition.
“So I expect Kerkez could drop out of the team with Robertson coming in, and then it will be a battle for him to earn his place back in the starting XI.”
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