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Anfield is known for giving its favourite sons an emotional welcome when they return, though at times that reception is made even more powerful by time away. In Andy Robertson’s case, however, the Carabao Cup has brought him back in a hurry. He could be back at Liverpool within four months of his farewell, whereas his friend Jordan Henderson had to wait four years before receiving that appreciation from his former club.

Robertson is still certain to get a thunderous ovation. Yet, despite how recently he left, Liverpool may already be feeling his absence. Almost any team, naturally, would miss the Scot at his best, during the roughly five-year spell when he ranked among the finest left-backs in world football and became an automatic pick in Liverpool’s greatest Premier League side; there is also a case for him to feature in an all-time Liverpool XI.

Roberto De Zerbi now has a decision to make over whether Robertson belongs in the Tottenham team: he helped them keep a clean sheet against Everton on Saturday, though he had been left on the bench at Nottingham Forest the week before. But the early signs from Anfield suggest Liverpool’s left-back options have weakened since Robertson’s departure.

Robertson's display against Everton helped Spurs keep a clean sheet.

The man brought in to fill the gap has been his former deputy, Kostas Tsimikas, who returned from a loan spell at Roma to serve as Milos Kerkez’s understudy. The ‘Greek Scouser’, as the 30-year-old has described himself, made his first Liverpool start in 15 months on Saturday. The positive for Liverpool was that, after defeats in the previous two matches and five losses in 12, they avoided a hat-trick. The less encouraging part was that Tsimikas did not come out for the second half, having been substituted after a particularly underwhelming display.

That Kerkez looked clearly better was itself an indictment because, three days earlier, the Hungarian had appeared the weakest link in the side against Atletico Madrid. It may simply be that these are teething problems as Tsimikas adjusts to Andoni Iraola’s style of football.

Even so, the opposition were a Fulham side who had not picked up a point before this, and the game was at Anfield; this was meant to be exactly the kind of fixture in which a manager could rotate. It is also clear that Iraola will have to do that: the prospect of a 60-game season, his high-intensity approach and the attacking responsibilities he places on full-backs all suggest he will want to spread the burden.

Last season, Robertson started 20 matches in all competitions. Arguably, that was too few, especially given that Kerkez struggled in his first few months at Anfield and Arne Slot still kept selecting him, even if some games hinted that the brave Scot was on the decline.

It is more difficult now to imagine Tsimikas starting 20 matches, even though he has twice started 19 games for Liverpool. And yet competition for places feels more necessary at left-back than in several other areas of Iraola’s squad.

Kerkez has already been at fault in two crucial moments. Liverpool have conceded five goals so far this season. Two of those have come from Kerkez’s direct opponents: Anthony Elanga racing beyond him at Newcastle, and Marcos Llorente making a run in behind him for Atletico Madrid.

Kostas Tsimikas was unconvincing when he started at left-back for Liverpool against Fulham.

During the opening couple of weeks of the season, Jeremie Frimpong’s obvious shortcomings meant Kerkez was not the biggest issue. For the moment, Iraola appears to have solved the right-back problem by bringing in Ronald Araujo in place of Frimpong.

There is no similarly obvious answer on the left. Sunday brings a date that could be doubly chastening: Iraola’s first return to Bournemouth, and Kerkez’s second visit since his 2025 transfer.

A duel with Rayan, the gifted young Brazilian signed during Iraola’s spell there, looks set to be a stern test. A comparison with Adrien Truffert, the left-back recruited as Kerkez’s successor, may not reflect well on him either. Both made their Premier League debuts for their new clubs in the same match 13 months ago and, although Iraola’s Bournemouth lost 4-2 to Slot’s Liverpool, Truffert looked the better player than Kerkez.

Milos Kerkez may flourish under Andoni Iraola, but he needs to show signs of progress.

The belief throughout has been that Kerkez’s age gives him room to improve. He is almost a decade younger than Robertson and even two years younger than Truffert. Reuniting with Iraola, a manager whose tactics should suit him better than Slot’s ever did, is another reason to support Kerkez as the long-term option. At some point, though, that faith would be helped by performances that justify it. He improved in the second half of last season, but without ever looking entirely convincing.

Even so, once Robertson confirmed he would leave when his contract expired, it quickly became clear that Tsimikas would return and Liverpool would not enter the market for a new left-back. They had more pressing concerns. They needed to keep funds available for wingers. Their hope was that Tsimikas would buy them time.

Next summer as well, there may be a number of other positions that need attention. Yet one early verdict is that left-back will be among them too. Replacing a player of Robertson’s calibre was never going to be straightforward. In one sense, Liverpool have not found the right replacement in either of the two roles: neither as the first-choice left-back nor as the back-up.