Liverpool have agreed terms with Hull City for the transfer of left back Andrew Robertson. Here is why everyone is underrating the young Scotsman:
Liverpool are set to sign their third player of the transfer window this week by adding Scottish international defender Andrew Robertson. An £8 million bid, with add-ons rising to £10 million, has been agreed and the player will have a medical on Thursday.
News of the transfer has been met with two responses. Firstly there are those who can’t see past the fact that he plays for Hull; or that they were relegated; or that he is Scottish. Of course none of that matters.
Secondly there are those who say “ignore that, give him a chance”. A patient pragmatism. This is very sensible and much better than dismissing the player before he’s even kicked a ball at Anfield.
However I want to propose another viable reaction; excitement.
Excitement
You can be excited about Andrew Robertson because he is good at football. Good at running with the ball, pass the ball, scoring and defending, He is a very good footballer so you can get excited.
Now you don’t have to be “we just signed Suarez/Firmino/Keita” excited. But it can be “we may have found our first team left back” excited.
Watch this video of when he played for Dundee United:
He looks great doesn’t he? Dynamic, quick and decisive. So why is there not a ton of YouTube clips of him doing the same at Hull? Well for the three seasons he spent with Hull most of it was under Steve Bruce. Have you seen how his teams play? Can you think of a single player that has looked good in a Steve Bruce side? Exactly.
After the agricultural football of Steve Bruce he played under the clueless and fearful tactics of Mike Phelan. Finally under Marco Silva did we see some of that swashbuckling from deep that you could see in his breakthrough at Dundee United.
I think he has the talent to be our first choice left back for half a decade or more. I think he has shown his willingness to execute his manager’s orders even when his manager is clueless. Jurgen Klopp is by far the smartest manager he has been anywhere close to.
I’m not buying an Andrew Robertson shirt tomorrow but I am going to enjoy a new signing who has an amazing opportunity to prove every doubter wrong. Up the Reds.