Liverpool need to reinforce the left-back position in the summer transfer market
It’s unlikely Richard Hughes will address the area in what is left of the January window. However, sooner or later the ‘problem’ area will have to be fixedAndy Robertson is not getting any younger,
and he’s clearly struggling in this Liverpool team. Kostas Tsimikas meanwhile is not a viable long-term solutionThere’s been plenty of links to left-backs lately with Anfield Watch revealing that the Reds have held talks with Milos Kerkez.
However, the perfect successor to Robertson’s throne might already be at the club.Why Calum Scanlon could replace Andy Robertson as he returns from injury
One of the most highly rated young left-backs in the club’s academy (of which there are many) is Calum Scanlon.
The 19-year-old youngster was brought in from Birmingham City’s academy and he is very highly rated. In his youth career he played alongside Jude Bellingham’s brother, Jobe.At the time when Liverpool signed him, Scanlon was regarded as one of the best prospects from Birmingham’s academy after Bellingham.
Since then, he’s made really positives strides at Anfield, working his way up the youth ranks and even making his debut under Jurgen Klopp in the Europa League last season
This season he has earned a move on loan to Millwall in the Championship where he started really well before suffering an injury which saw him return to the Reds and continue his rehabilitation process at the AXA training centre.
However, Scanlon’s loan spell is not overHe’s recovered from his injury and he’s returned back to Millwall where he finally made a return to the pitch as a starter for the first time since his injury on Saturday afternoon against Hull City.
Scanlon played 60 minutes for his side and impressed his manager, Alex Neil, who praised the Liverpool wonderkid’s performance“I thought he was excellent,” Neil said as per the Southwark News. “He’s athletic, he’s technical, he can handle the ballThe game, probably at the start, was a little bit quick for him, in terms of getting his head up and maybe feeding a couple down the side. But there is loads and loads to work with.“Calum is exactly the type of player that we want at the club. He was good. Once it reached 60 minutes I literally can’t afford any more injuries at the moment, so I need to try and protect him.”
Those are really encouraging words and based on that description alone Scanlon seems like an ideal fit to replace Robertson at Anfield in the future
Now the Reds will hope he continues to get minutes at his new club and earn much needed experience so he comes back to the club as a better player and ready to make an impact in the first team.