Kostas Tsimikas shows FSG at their best

Liverpool buying Kostas Tsimikas shows FSG at their best.

They have got some criticism for their approach in the transfer market, particularly surrounding the pursuit of Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich, but this deal is their bread and butter.

Kostas Tsimikas will only cost around £11.75 million, wrote the Guardian, which is nearly half the fee Norwich City wanted for Jamal Lewis.

The owners can be criticised for their lack of investment in certain areas, although winning the Champions League and Premier League makes it hard to sustain any FSG Out argument.

Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah are an elite attacking unit, but Divock Origi, Takumi Minamino and Xherdan Shaqiri are not. However, they came in on a budget and all have contributed at various points across their Liverpool career.

Left-back is an area that has been underinvested in for the last couple of seasons, although it’s difficult to sign anyone to play as a back-up to Andy Robertson.

Which is where FSG and sporting director Michael Edwards come in. The difficult they have is finding someone good enough to play under Jurgen Klopp, but not too good that they’ll expect 20 games a season.

Lewis was one of those players, but Norwich refused to lower their asking price and the club quickly moved on to their other targets.

Edwards will also need to find a player who doesn’t cost a fortune, since they won’t be playing much, but who does fit with the underlying metrics of how Liverpool play.

It looks like they’ve played a blinder with Kostas Tsimikas.

His metrics are ridiculously similar to those of Andy Robertson and when adjusted to a Premier League level, they sit very comfortably with how Liverpool like to play.

With a few years of top flight experience under his belt, the Reds could even sell Tsimikas and they’ll surely make a profit on the man.

FSG have been criticised this summer, but this is them at their best.