Can Kostas Tsimikas Be a Success at Liverpool?

On August 11th, Kostas Tsimikas achieved a lifelong dream to sign for Liverpool Football Club. Not only had the Greek full-back signed for the famous English side, but he’d joined arguably the most dominant squad in their history. Although other names were linked, such as Jamal Lewis, the 24-year-old put pen to paper on a five-year deal after the Reds agreed a fee of around £11.75 million with Olympiacos in the summer transfer window of 2020. However, midway through the 2020-21 campaign, Tsimikas has featured just four times for Jurgen Klopp’s side. So, can he be a long-term success on Merseyside? 

Filling a Problem Position 

In Tsimikas’ defense, he has one of the trickiest jobs in football. In the pecking order, the Greek international is behind Scotland’s Andy Robertson, who's arguably the best left-sided full-back in world football. Ultimately, this is the job that Liverpool seemingly signed him to do. Following the departure of Alberto Moreno to Villarreal in 2019, the Reds’ German coach often called on James Milner to fill in at left-back when he opted to rest the former Hull City defender. 

At times, Klopp experimented with Yasser Larouci, who twice featured in the Liverpool senior side in 2019-20. However, with one year left on his deal, the Reds are expected to cash in on the 20-year-old in the summer window, with a whole host of Championship sides rumored to be interested in his signature, including Brentford. The Bees, however, didn’t pursue a deal for the full-back, and that doesn’t appear to have hindered their Premier League dream, as they are 11/4 in the Championship betting to win the league, as of January 11th. 

Denied Opportunities by Injuries 

Unfortunately for Tsimikas, fitness issues have denied him further appearances for Klopp’s team. Prior to joining the Reds, Transfermarkt stat the full-back had enjoyed a trouble-free career from an injury standpoint. After recovering from illness just one month into his Liverpool career, the Greek picked up a thigh injury on September 25th, which saw him miss three matches. Following his return to action, Tsimikas featured in three Champions League matches, although during the Reds’ final game of Group D, he suffered a knee injury, which will reportedly keep him sidelined until February. 

Despite his troubles, the Anfield faithful shouldn’t be quick to write off the 24-year-old. As per Tribuna, across the 2019-20 Champions League campaign, the Greek averaged 1.7 key passes per match. Robertson, on the other hand, played 0.5. Not only that, but Tsimikas always recorded a higher expected assists total with 0.19, as opposed to the Scotsman’s 0.05. What makes the former Olympiacos defender’s contributions even more impressive is that their group consisted of Bayern Munch, Red Star Belgrade, and Tottenham Hotspur.   

Tsimikas Requires Patience 

Given that he was signed as a back-up to Robertson, it’s not incorrect to say that Tsimikas has thus far failed to live up to expectations. However, with an interrupted pre-season and numerous fitness issues, it’s unfair to have expected the Greek to hit the ground running. In terms of playing style, he’s a natural alternative to Robertson, and now he just needs time to prove it.