Richard Hughes faces AGONISING £30m transfer decision over 342-game legend

Liverpool are soon set to welcome Milos Kerkez to the club. The 21-year-old Hungarian looks like he will become the Reds’ left-back for years to come.

Kerkez coming to Anfield is set to have a significant knock-on effect.

Andy Robertson, Liverpool’s long-term left-back incumbent has had his immediate future at the club placed in jeopardy. A stalwart of the Jurgen Klopp regime, Robertson has played 342 games for the Reds since joining in 2017.

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Throughout that time he formed a devastating partnership with fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold - and won all the major honours in the club game.

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Robbo is a two-time Premier League winner, a Champions League winner and a winner of the FIFA Club World Cup among other honours.

But time waits for no man.

Robertson hasn’t had the best of seasons, enduring some uncharacteristic errors throughout the campaign. There have been red cards and own goals, with Arne Slot preferring to use Kostas Tsimikas as a starter more frequently than Klopp ever did.

Kerkez in, Robertson out?

Left-back therefore had long been established as an area where Liverpool could upgrade - with Kerkez now apparently coming out on top.

Robertson is under contract until 2026 and it might well have been expected that Tsimikas - not the Scot - would move on to make space for Kerkez.

The Reds have no need for three senior left-backs; Tsimikas is younger than Robertson and enjoys an extra year on his contract. Given those conditions, Liverpool might well bank a bigger fee for the Greek.

But events in the last couple of days have changed all that.

Atletico make Robertson a priority

It appears Atletico Madrid are keen on adding Robertson as a priority target.

Anyone watching Atleti’s opening FIFA Club World Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain would have noticed the deficiencies down their left side. Robertson has reportedly been identified by Diego Simeone as a fix to those issues.

And, moreover, it’s been stated by Fabrizio Romano that Robertson is keen on the move. He placed his Liverpool future into unexpected doubt following the final league game of the season - intimating that he had no idea what the future held.

Those comments were surprising as with only one year left on his contract, it might have been expected that Robbo would act as a mentor to Kerkez for one year before earning the farewell he so richly deserved.

Liverpool to rake in £30m cash boost

But with Atletico prepared to pay a reported £20m (per TBR Football) for the Scotland captain, Liverpool could now be tempted to cash in. That’s a £20m bonus, in effect halving the outlay for Kerkez.

And, with Robertson earning something in the region of £160k per week, it would put another £8m or so back into the salary budget.

This move makes a lot of sense - from Robertson’s perspective and for the club. The player will continue to receive the high-level first-team football that he requires and Liverpool will rake in a near £30m cash boost - factoring in wages and a £20m transfer fee.

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It may not be the end that Robertson once envisaged - as he previously declared he wanted to stay at Anfield forever - but it looks like a good opportunity for both club and player to move on.