Michael Owen has questioned Liverpool’s decision to spend £40 million on Milos Kerkez this summer, suggesting the club may have underestimated Andy Robertson’s enduring quality.
The Scotland captain has returned to form in recent weeks, starting in Liverpool’s back-to-back victories over Aston Villa and Real Madrid. Both games ended in clean sheets, and Robertson’s performances have reportedly convinced manager Arne Slot to keep faith with him for Sunday’s crucial trip to Manchester City.
Speaking on Premier League Productions’ The Final Word, Michael Owen said he felt Robertson had been “written off too early” and wondered if the Reds truly needed to bring in another left-back.
“Did they need Kerkez, for example?” Michael Owen asked. “People pensioned Andy Robertson off pretty early in my opinion, and now everyone is saying, ‘Well, maybe they should revert back to that.’”
Owen’s comments follow criticism of Kerkez’s early displays for Liverpool, with many pundits questioning whether the young Hungarian is ready to handle the demands of playing for a club of such stature.
Former Liverpool defender Markus Babbel also voiced similar concerns last month, telling Escapist Magazine that Kerkez still has much to learn defensively.
“I think Milos Kerkez needs time to get used to the standards of Liverpool,” Babbel said. “He’s a young player who isn’t used to playing for a big club — and Liverpool are a massive club. The pressure and expectation from the fans and the staff is completely different to what he had at Bournemouth.”
Babbel continued:
“Kerkez is a talented player, but defensively and tactically he is definitely struggling right now. He needs to develop that mindset of ‘nobody can beat you’ on the wing. I look at some of the challenges he makes and think there’s a lot of room for improvement.”
For now, Robertson’s return to form has eased the pressure on the 20-year-old, who may need time to adapt before establishing himself as a regular starter. But with Liverpool juggling a demanding schedule across multiple competitions, both left-backs could yet play crucial roles in the months ahead.
