Opinion: £50,000/week crossing wizard will shape Jurgen Klopp's summer transfer plans Transfers
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Opinion: £50,000/week crossing wizard will shape Jurgen Klopp's summer transfer plans

Opinion: £50,000/week crossing wizard will shape Jurgen Klopp's summer transfer plans

Liverpool need to sign a right-back this summer to provide Alexander-Arnold with the competition and cover he needs for the 2021/22 season.

Signed for a reported £11.7m on £50,000/week wages, Konstantinos Tsimikas arrived at Liverpool with an exciting reputation for being extremely accurate with his crossing from the left flank.

Injuries and the COVID-19 virus caused him to be sidelined during an important period for the Reds and although he's been fit since the end of January, he's struggled to make an impact at Liverpool and hasn't started for Jurgen Klopp's men since the 1-1 draw with FC Midtjylland in December of last year.

HERNING, DENMARK - DECEMBER 09: Kostas Tsimikas of Liverpool FC is chased by Anders Dreyer of FC Midtjylland during the UEFA Champions League group play match between FC Midtjylland and Liverpool FC at MCH Arena on December 9, 2020 in Herning, Denmark. (Photo by Lars Ronbog / FrontZoneSport via Getty Images)
HERNING, DENMARK - DECEMBER 09: Kostas Tsimikas of Liverpool FC is chased by Anders Dreyer of FC Midtjylland during the UEFA Champions League group play match between FC Midtjylland and Liverpool FC at MCH Arena on December 9, 2020 in Herning, Denmark. (Photo by Lars Ronbog / FrontZoneSport via Getty Images)

Andy Robertson has been quite poor this season when compared to the lofty standards he has set for himself in previous seasons, setting up just five goals in 3869 minutes.

It would only be fair to talk about the lack of a clinical striker on the end of his passes which has a lot to do with his low creativity numbers this season but the fact is that the Scotland skipper is simply exhausted.

When you ignore the FIFA Club World Cup because Liverpool weren't in it this season, Robbo has already matched his minutes from last season. This combined with a lack of a pre-season and the condensed season and you begin to understand why the former Hull City fullback is exhausted.

Tsimikas has failed to provide a reliable rotation option for Klopp but this shouldn't cause the German coach to ignore the need to sign cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is in a similar situation to Robertson.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 23: Andrew Robertson of Liverpool and Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool speak during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool FC at Selhurst Park on November 23, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 23: Andrew Robertson of Liverpool and Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool speak during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Liverpool FC at Selhurst Park on November 23, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The Scouser has struggled for form at times and with just 6.4% of his 43 appearances coming as a substitute, Trent has been asked to start at just about every opportunity when fit.

He missed a month of football between the start of November and the start of December due to a calf injury that saw him miss just four games. Since then, he's been in the thick of things without fail due to Klopp's lack of cover for him.

This summer might be all about signing Ibrahima Konate and a centre-foward but the most overlooked position that needs reinforcement is right back and Klopp cannot disregard this position due to Tsimikas' failure to make an impact.

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