As long as the left-back believes there is still much he can offer, he will stay and fight
Andy Robertson is a mentality monster. You have to be to play at the absolute top level for eight years, and in the best Liverpool side in 40 years to boot.
There has been serious speculation around the Scotland captain’s future as Liverpool pursue a new left-back this summer. That left-back is Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez, ten years younger than Robertson. It is believed the deal will progress once the Cherries complete the £15m signing of Rennes captain Adrien Truffert.
While many supporters still hold deep respect for the Robertson, a lot of them have also asked whether the time has come to move him on due to his age and the natural decline that has followed. There is interest from Atletico Madrid, and if La Liga does have a slower pace as they say, then he could potentially play on for much longer there.
But why would Robertson leave? Exiting Liverpool – a club he loves – because a new left-back could be brought in, or because he is slowing down, sounds exactly like the kind of defeatist attitude you won’t find in the defender with the second-highest assists in Premier League history.
“The reason why I’m a Liverpool player,” he said a few years back, “is the same reason why I’m captain of my country: I’ve worked my bollocks off to get where I am, and by doing that, I’ve been able to make the most of whatever talent I have.”
He will stay and he will fight, because he believes there is still much he can offer.
“I’m not getting any younger – I can’t change my age – but I still believe I’ve got a lot to give,” Robertson told BBC Sport last week. “My body feels good at the minute. I can’t tell you how I’ll feel at 33 or 34, but I can tell you, at 31, I feel excellent.”
So while Liverpool could bring in a younger left-back this summer, Robertson is unlikely to leave. Of course, a large part of it depends on the club, who could yet choose not to offer him a contract extension (it expires in 2026).
But as long as there is a challenge that involves working hard on the pitch, the Scot will face it.
“When you play for a big club like Liverpool, you expect challenges, you expect to have competition,” he told Sky Sports. “We want the club to be ambitious, they’re doing that. And wherever we fit into that, if you’re happy with your role, you stay and you do it. If you’re not, then I’m sure there will be some people out the door as well.”
