Liverpool’s Four-Men Shortlist to Replace Andy Robertson | OneFootball

Robertson’s Decline Sparks Search for Slot’s Reliable Left-Back

Andy Robertson’s Regression

One of Liverpool’s main priorities in the upcoming transfer windows will be to replace Andy Robertson.

The Liverpool left-back is not getting any younger and it’s clear Kostas Tsimikas is not a long-term replacement for his role at Anfield.

In the upcoming windows, Liverpool have to find a long-term solution for Arne Slot in order to ensure he has a left-back who he can rely on for years to come.

But just who could that left-back be? Anfield Index takes you through the Reds’ four-men shortlist.

Milos Kerkez

Kerkez is a robust and energetic defender. Just like Andy Robertson, he is full throttle and not afraid to put his body on the line when it matters.

In terms of the numbers, Kerkez has stood-out not only defensively but offensively as well for Bournemouth this season.

The Hungarian has averaged 0.17 expected goals and assists per 90, which is just 0.04 shy of Andy Robertson’s season average of 0.21. Considering, Kerkez plays for Bournemouth a lot further down the table the 0.04 defence between the two of them in terms of output per game is really minor.

Photo: IMAGO

Defensively, Kerkez averages twice as many interceptions (1.05 per 90) than Robertson (0.52 per 90) and has a better tackle success rate (65%) as opposed to the Scotsman (61.5%).

All in all, with Kerkez you are getting a very similar product to Robertson. His defending is not as refined in terms of his positioning, but he’s almost a decade younger and has plenty of time to hone and improve his game.

Jorrel Hato

Someone who is a little bit different to Robertson is the 18-year-old Dutch defender, Hato.

He has been playing as a left-back for Ajax this season and has a great output going forward averaging 0.24 expected goals and assists per 90 minutes, which is a slight over performance on his 0.43 actual goals and assists per 90 average.

It’s important to take that into account because while Hato’s underlying offensive numbers are still solid, he is definitely a lot more defensive minded compared to Robertson.

For example, Hato only makes 1.58 progressive carries per 90, which is a lot lower than Robertson’s 2.15 per 90.

He also has a fewer success rate when it comes to take-ons (25%) as opposed to Robertson’s 28.6%.

But on the other hand Hato is a brilliant defender averaging more than 3 tackles and interceptions per 90, which is pretty impressive in a dominant Ajax side, as opposed to Robertson who averages just over 2.

Hato also wins 69.2% of his aerial duels as opposed to Robertson who wins just 42.9%.

So, with him Liverpool get a very dominant defender who can also play as a centre-back, but perhaps they might miss Robertson’s explosiveness on the wing which has been paramount to Jurgen Klopp’s success with the Reds, but it’s perhaps not as much of a priority under Slot.

Photo: IMAGO

Nathaniel Brown

Another name who has emerged on Liverpool’s radar is Frankfurt’s young left-back, Brown.

The 21-year-old has established himself as a regular in the German side and has really impressive numbers averaging 0.45 expected goals and assists per 90 – more than 0.24 compared to Robertson.

But this comes with a caveat, Brown plays as a wing-back for Frankfurt, which means he gets a lot more time in and around the opposition’s penalty area and therefore a lot more chances in front of goal.

Nonetheless, he’s still a more explosive presence on the pitch than the aforementioned Hato. But perhaps he is also a lot rawer than Kerkez for example.

Brown has an attempted take-on success rate of under 30% – in the same category as Hato and Robertson. So in that sense he wouldn’t necessarily be an upgrade, especially considering he would be coming up against probably better defenders in the Premier League.

Defensively, he is a little bit more solid winning 71.4% of his 2.22 attempted tackles per 90, which is way more than Robertson’s 61.5% success rate and also averages more than 3 interceptions and tackles per 90 – just like Hato.

But there is a question mark over whether Brown can do this while playing a little bit deeper in a back four, where you have to be even more disciplined in terms of your defensive positioning – the data on that is inconclusive considering Brown is only playing his first season in the Bundesliga and he has only played as a wing-back so far.

Antonee Robinson

Liverpool fans have seen first-hand this season just how impressive Robinson can be.

He’s got the brilliant ability to run forward and make things happen for Fulham that Robertson had in his prime and he showed that at Anfield, grabbing two assists.

He’s averaged 0.33 assists per 90 this season, which makes him one of the most productive full-backs in the league. However, it’s important to note Robinson’s underlying numbers are not that impressive.

Photo IMAGO

In fact when we are examining just how expected assists, Robinson’s numbers half to just 0.15 – which is exactly the same output as Robertson this season – the only difference is that Liverpool’s stars have not put the chances away that they should have which the Scotsman had created. Whereas, Fulham have even put the chances away Robinson created that they were not expected to.

Defensively, Robinson is very active for Fulham, constantly tracking back and averaging a whopping 4.89 tackles and interceptions per 90, more than double that of Robertson’s output (2.05).

He’s also a very effective dribbler making 1.33 successful take-ons per 90 and succeeding in 52.2% of his attempts. Robertson averages just 0.15 successful take-ons and has a 28.3% success rate.

So in some ways, Robinson can definitely be an upgrade to Robertson – he’s definitely capable of being a more proactive defender while also making those surging runs forward to beat the opposition – that isn’t necessarily Robertson’s game anymore.

The only question mark is age, with the Fulham defender set to turn 28-years-old in August next year, which isn’t necessarily an age that Liverpool have recruited in the past.