Left-back was the subject of interest from Atletico after Kerkez switched to Anfield
Andy Robertson has revealed he was close to leaving Liverpool for Atletico Madrid during the summer but decided to stay and compete for his place under Arne Slot.
The Scotland captain has arguably been the greatest full-back in Liverpool’s gilded history alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold, but he found himself down the pecking order this summer after the club signed Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth for £40m.
Robertson has been a top player and leader in the side for close to a decade, making 345 appearances and supplying 67 assists, but there were concerns that he was on the decline due to age. He began to make some uncharacteristic errors and his first Premier League assist last season came in May.
Asked if he considered a move to the Spanish capital, he said: “Maybe, at one point.” However, he made it clear he was now focused on getting back to his best on Merseyside.
“I do want to play games and be the starting left-back, and I have got to keep pushing to try to produce the levels I know I can do,” said Robertson.
“The international break was good for me as I was able to get two 90 minutes, get that match fitness and two really good results for Scotland, and I took a lot of confidence from that.”
Kerkez has started all four league fixtures but was substituted in the first half against Burnley on Sunday after an early booking raised concerns of a red card. It allowed Robertson to feature in only his second Premier League appearance of the season so far, having also replaced Kerkez in the second half against Bournemouth.
Robertson, now 31, said he will compete with the Hungarian for the starting position and push him to develop.
“He just needs to keep working hard and not let [Sunday] affect him, which it won’t as he’s a confident lad, and I’ll help him as much as I can.
“He is only young, and I think we forget that. You try to help them as much as you can, but you want to put pressure on them, and you want to play games.
“He will be the starting left-back for Liverpool in the future, and it’s up to me to push him this season and help him improve.”
