50/50 transfer decision has left Liverpool in huge hole and there’s only one way out for Slot

Steve Pearson 13 Oct 2025 2:39 PM

Liverpool manager Arne Slot

A critical transfer decision that went under the radar at Liverpool is coming back to bite, and with a Reds player told to retire, there’s only one way out for Arne Slot.

Much was made of Liverpool’s lavish summer spending, though in truth, the vast bulk of it was necessary.

Trent Alexander-Arnold defected to Real Madrid and Andy Robertson endured by far the worst campaign of his Liverpool career. New full-backs in the form of Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez were a must.

The Reds lost three forwards (four if you count Harvey Elliott, five if you include Ben Doak) and only brought three in – Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak.

Further back, Giovanni Leoni arrived from Parma to raise Liverpool’s centre-back corps to four. An ACL injury has quickly reverted that number to three.

It’s fair to say we’re still to see the best from all of Liverpool’s summer signings. Wirtz – largely because of his price tag – is the one coming in for the most fervent criticism, but in reality, it’s Kerkez who has struggled the most.

Robertson’s slipping standards – and it was a truly alarming slip – prompted the signing of Kerkez who Slot wasted no time throwing straight into the starting eleven.

The Hungarian debuted in the Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace and from the get-go, looked to be playing with his heart instead of his head.

Rash decision-making, going to ground too easily and a propensity to commit unnecessary fouls have categorised Kerkez’s early showings in a Liverpool shirt.

Ordinarily, a manager would remove the player from under the spotlight and give his back-up a chance.

The problem in this instance is Robertson has clearly lost Slot’s trust and his displays for Scotland have provided further evidence the 31-year-old is finished at the top level.

Robertson came in for a torrent of stinging criticism from countless Scotland fans for his display in the narrow 2-1 victory over Belarus on Sunday, a select few examples of which can be found below. One user on X even called upon Robertson to retire from international football.

Serious questions need to asked about Andy Robertson he’s defensively getting exposed every game for Scotland now..

— Ryan Clifford (@Ryanclifford11) October 12, 2025

for someone whose whole thing was being good at crossing under klopp i don’t think i’ve ever seen andy robertson put a good ball in the box

— Arron (@arron1s) October 12, 2025

Andy Robertson needs to follow Callum McGregor by retiring from international duty. Continues to stink the place out in a dark blue jersey.

— Robbie Hanratty (@RHanratty99) October 12, 2025

Back at Anfield, Kerkez’s struggles have been there for all to see, yet Slot hasn’t selected Robertson to start even once in the Premier League this season.

It’s an issue that stems from Liverpool’s decision to retain Robertson and offload Kostas Tsimikas via the loan route during the summer.

Tsimikas clearly wasn’t the answer for the Reds at left-back, but had he been retained and Robertson been the one to go, maybe Slot would be more willing to give Kerkez a breather right now?

Instead, Tsimikas joined Roma on a season-long loan and Robertson remained in situ for the final year of his contract. As things stands, the Scot is on course to leave Liverpool for nothing at the end of a campaign in which he’ll barely feature.

A makeshift solution many teams deploy at full-back is to place a right-sided centre-back at right-back, and a left-sided one on the left.

The trouble for Liverpool is they don’t possess a single left-footed centre-back. The one centre-back who does have experience of playing at left-back, Joe Gomez, is hardly the answer.

As such, and unless Slot suddenly discovers a new wave of faith in Robertson, the only solution open to the Liverpool boss is to continue selecting Kerkez and pray the Hungarian plays his way into form.