Time for Tsimikas to stake a claim for regular Liverpool spot

 

The curse of the left-back strikes again. Playing the role in the Premier League this season should come with its own health warning after Andy Robertson dislocated his should while on international duty. Liverpool will now have to make do without the Scotland international until December if reports are to be believed. Given Robertson's start to the season, his absence is a blow in Liverpool's pursuit of domestic and continental glory. 

 

The 29-year-old has returned a WhoScored rating of 7.11, that better than any other Premier League left-back this season, and to lose a full-back of his calibre, particularly in the final third, will impact Liverpool. Indeed, Robertson is a key attacking outlet for the Reds. 19 key passes is the third best of all defenders and eighth overall in England's top tier this term and with Trent Alexander-Arnold struggling for form on the opposite flank, the Scot has been vital for the Reds in the opening weeks of the campaign. 

 

 

In previous years, Liverpool would have struggled in the absence of Robertson but back in August 2020, the Reds dipped into the market to ensure they had the relevant strength in depth should the worst come to pass. Kostas Tsimikas has never started more than nine Premier League games during his three-and-a-bit years at Anfield, though when playing second fiddle to one of the best in the game, that shouldn't come as a surprise. 

 

The Greek left-back though is set for an extended period of time in the starting XI, a run that'll begin almost a month after he put pen to paper on a new deal at Anfield. This is exactly the reason Tsimikas was signed for back in 2020, however. Liverpool needed an attacking left-back as cover for Robertson, and he is able to step in for his teammate where needs must to ensure Liverpool are able to swarm opponents when they break forward. 

 

An issue could be that Tsimikas' lack of game time negatively impacts the Reds, yet he's been a solid presence at left-back in both the Carabao Cup and the Europa League despite a mishap in Kasey McAteer's opener in the former competition last month. For Greece, too, Tsimikas has been key as Gus Poyet's side seek to secure a spot at Euro 2024. In qualification, the 27-year-old has completed 19 dribbles, that more than any other defender and the sixth most overall. In addition, 11 key passes in Euros qualifying ranks 32nd, so despite struggling for domestic minutes, the former Olympiacos man has the ability to routinely beat an opponent and create for teammates on the international stage. 

 

Liverpool will be hoping Tsimikas can successfully transfer his Greece form to the domestic stage as they seek to return to winning ways at rivals Everton's expense on Saturday. There will be ample pressure on Tsimikas to shoulder the attacking burden from left-back for the Reds starting in the weekend's Merseyside Derby but this isn't the first time he has been thrust into action in Robertson's absence. 

 

In fact, his first league start of the 2022/23 season came against Everton, while Tsimikas featured from the outset in Liverpool's 2021/22 season opener against Norwich due to injury to Robertson, so this isn't new ground to cover for the Greek left-back. Despite a lack of game time for the club, Tsimikas ranks joint-fifth for assists (4) of all Liverpool players since the start of last season, and just four behind Robertson. 

 

Factor in that Tsimikas has registered just 773 minutes of game time over the same period and he boasts the best mins per assist record of all Liverpool players since the start of 2022/23. He's third for mins per key pass behind Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai of all players currently at the club, so can comfortably step in to fill the void with relative ease. Given an impending run of games, Liverpool fans should be confident that the Merseyside outfit won't be hamstrung by Robertson's absence and rather maintain their ability to dominate games with Tsimikas slotting in seamlessly. 

 

There's a sound argument to be made that Liverpool's backup left-back is of a higher calibre than a number of first choices in the position in the Premier League, which speaks volumes of the strength in depth in Jurgen Klopp's side. While the more defensively diligent Joe Gomez may prove a better fit at left-back over the coming weeks, if Liverpool do wish to maintain the same attacking threat as they would were Robertson available, then Tsimikas is the logical replacement.

Time for Tsimikas to stake a claim for regular Liverpool spot