‘It’s hard to say’ – Arne Slot provides intriguing update on Andy Robertson’s Liverpool future | OneFootball

Arne Slot has admitted he expects Andy Robertson to remain at Liverpool this season despite the Scotland international being strongly linked with a move to Premier League rivals Spurs.

The full-back, who joined the Reds from Hull City in 2017, has won every major trophy possible during his time at Anfield and is a huge favourite amongst Kopites.

The 31-year-old has played second fiddle to summer signing Milos Kerkez for the majority of the campaign so far but appears to be set for a starting spot tomorrow as Liverpool host Qarabag in the Champions League.

“Robbo is part of the team tomorrow evening,” said Slot (as quoted by Express). “And he’s been part of this squad, of this club for so many years. And I’m happy to have him.

“It’s good that he’s available, because that’s quite important for us at the moment to have players available. It’s hard to say anything definitive in this world we are in, but I expect him to stay, yes.”

Liverpool are struggling at centre half at the moment with Giovanni Leoni and Joe Gomez sidelined through injury and Ibou Konate unavailable following a recent family bereavement.

It’s likely that Robertson will start in his natural position of left back against the Azerbaijani outfit with Slot’s comments earlier today suggesting it will be a midfielder to fill in alongside Virgil van Dijk at the heart of defence (BBC Sport).

The failure to secure the signing of central defender Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace in the summer is coming back to bite Liverpool and there appears to be no movement from the club for any other defensive reinforcements.

Robertson simply isn’t getting enough minutes

Our No.26 has made it clear that he loves life at Liverpool but as any professional should, the Scotsman has admitted he’s not content with sitting on the bench.

“I’m a player who wants to play,” he said in a BBC Sport interview recently (as quoted by Empire of the Kop). “Footballers want to play and if anyone is sat happy on the bench, then they don’t belong at any football club.”

The former Dundee United man is approaching the end of his current Reds deal and has not hid the fact that he’s weighing up his options ahead of the summer.

“I’ve got five months left and we need to see what the option is to stay or if there’s options to go and things like that,” our vice-captain added.

When called upon this term the Scotland captain has not disappointed and he’ll be keen for regular minutes during the final months of the campaign.

Is Kerkez the answer?

Milos Kerkez has been Arne Slot’s preferred option at left back this season (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

The Hungarian has started to show in recent weeks why we forked out £40m for his services in the summer.

His energy in an attacking sense sets him apart from many other full-backs in the division while he also showed a hunger to defend and not get beat by his man during our 3-0 victory over Marseille in the Champions League.

Kerkez is just 22 years of age so has plenty of development still ahead of him and Robertson is the ideal mentor for the former Bournemouth man.

The latter arrived from relegated Hull City in the summer of 2017 and it took him a while to break into Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI.

He soon made the position his own and redefined the position with his tenacity and energy levels up and down the left flank.

Kerkez has the ability to do the same – but there are parts of his game that he simply must improve.