What happened to Kevin Stewart, the man Hull swapped for Andy Robertson?

What ever happened to Kevin Stewart? The Liverpool starlet was essentially swapped for Andy Robertson two seasons ago, but what has he done since?

In the summer of 2017, newly relegated Hull City made the decision to part with one of their better players from a dismal campaign. Scottish left back Robertson had played well, but had been part of a defence that conceded a phenomenal 80 goals over the course of 38 fixtures.

Along with Harry Maguire, he would go on to be sold.

Part of that £8 million fee was recouped when Liverpool sent Stewart in the other direction, and if you thought that the Tigers may have snagged a better deal you probably wouldn’t be alone in that assessment.

Stewart was regarded by Jurgen Klopp as one of the better tacklers in the squad, and should have been able to provide Hull with steel and malice in a league that demands both.

Robertson, on the other hand, was unproven. He didn’t cost a lot, which the Twitterati demanded worked against him, and couldn’t get a game until December 2017.

He looked out of his depth when we first signed him, especially for the amount we spent.

But then slowly things started to fade from memory and a new reality emerged. Liverpool had grabbed an absolute bargain with Robbo, although the fact that Stewart went the other way was largely forgotten.

So what happened to the midfielder, who shouldered half of the financial burden of one of the deals of the century?

Well, not much. The Tottenham Hotspur youngster struggled in his early years with the Tigers and looked well off the pace. Fans expected a lot better from Stewart, especially given the fee, but he just couldn’t deliver.

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Scott Grayston, a Hull fan and journalist for Worldwide Golf, said that Stewart ‘looked out of his depth when we first signed him, especially for the amount we spent.’

Things started to look up during 2018/2019, but when Jackson Irvine and Daniel Batty were both fit they played ahead of the former Reds starlet, which limited his time on the pitch.

“Stewart played better in this second year, ” continued Grayston, “he started to look sharper and was getting stuck in more.

“But he didn’t get in the side once Jackson Irvine came back and he was also battling with Daniel Batty for the position, who manager Nigel Adkins loved.”

Batty, a young Academy graduate, would not have expected to be handed a place ahead of his expensive teammate. But that’s how it goes.

Nigel Adkins has since left Hull and Grant McCann has come in to replace him. A changing of the guard always represents a chance for the overlooked to come back into plans, could this be Stewart’s big chance?

“It’ll be interesting to see how he gets on this year because I think we are selling our captain Markus Henriksen, so Stewart should be a key player in an expected relegation battle,” concluded Grayston.

Keep your eyes peeled on what could be a make or break campaign for the man.