Andy Robertson was one of the pillars of the Liverpool team that won the Premier League and the Champions League under Jurgen Klopp. However, fitness issues in the summer meant that he missed pre-season and the Scotland international has been in and out of the starting eleven under new manager Arne Slot. There is an acceptance at Anfield that the club need to bring in a long-term replacement for him next summer or as early as January despite the Reds wanting to offer him a new contract.
Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes has a lot on his plate as he and his recruitment team go about their business of identifying areas of the squad they need to improve on in the next two transfer windows. It seems crystal clear that the club are in the market for a new left-back.
The Merseyside giants are keeping tabs on several Premier League options who might not require the time to adapt to the intensity of the league and slot straight into the starting eleven once he joins the club next summer.
Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri is one of the players the club are tracking but there are suggestions that Liverpool are showing real interest in snaring Milos Kerkez out of Bournemouth at the end of the season.
The Hungarian has shone at Dean Court this season and Hughes, who signed him for the Cherries, is keen to take him to Anfield in the next summer transfer window.
However, I recently watched an ultra-attacking left-back in Europe and I am convinced that the Reds fans would fall in love with this man if he ends up wearing the Liverpool shirt as Robertson’s long-term replacement.
Bayer Leverkusen’s goalscoring left-back
Alejandro Grimaldo joined Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer and probably became one of the greatest pieces of business the club ever carried out given what he did last season.
Leverkusen lost just one game all season, which was the Europa League final, and Grimaldo was one of the architects of their success in the 2023/24 campaign.
The Spaniard scored an astonishing 12 goals and registered 20 assists across all competitions for Xabi Alonso’s side and became the most feared attacking left-back in Europe.
Grimaldo’s ability to score from set-pieces and deliver pinpoint accurate balls from dead-ball situations make him a coach’s delight given how important set-pieces have become in the modern game. However, there are more bows in his quiver other than possessing a magical left foot,
The left-back can score goals, attack the box and force defenders into making mistakes while also finding pinpoint accuracy in his crossing. He is the complete attacking full-back who will settle into any modern team that need their wing-backs to bomb forward.
Can you name the club Liverpool sold these players to?
However, that doesn’t mean the former Barcelona academy product shies away from his defensive duties. Grimaldo is a safe tackler and finds a way to close the space for attackers down the right channel. Despite his impressive attacking numbers, the left-back takes his defensive duties seriously and is happy and willing to do the dirty work at the back for the team.
Grimaldo’s eye for a pass from the deep also makes him a player who can be used to quickly switch from defence to attacks. There are numerous examples of the left-back opening up the game with one quick pass down the channel and allowing the rest of the team to press upfront.
Is he too old to be Robertson’s long-term replacement?
He looks like a player meant to play for an Arne Slot team but there is only one catch – Grimaldo is 29, just a year younger than Robertson. Liverpool are likely to want to bring in a younger player who could grow into the role while the Scot is still at the club.
Hughes and his recruitment team are likely to focus on bringing in younger players who could have a good resale value and it is clear the Spaniard doesn’t fit into that mould.
However, if the Reds are prepared to gamble on an older player to come in and be the lynchpin of the team for a few years, the Bayer Leverkusen man would make a readymade high-quality replacement for Robertson.
