The Liverpool left back was linked with a transfer to the Spanish side but Atleti have instead moved for Atalanta’s Matteo Ruggeri.
Having completed the signing of 21-year-old Hungarian international Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth today, Liverpool find themselves with one too many left backs on the roster and a widespread belief that one will be departing before the 2025-26 season.
The question then becomes which of veteran starter Andy Robertson and backup Kostas Tsimikas moves on. At the end of the past season, most believed keeping Robertson would be the preference, but in the time since the 31-year-old Scottish international found himself strongly linked with Atletico Madrid.
Atleti, though, are now off the table after Serie A side Atalanta accepted a €20M bid for left back Matteo Ruggeri. This followed rumours earlier in the day suggesting that the Spanish club had cooled their interest in Liverpool’s Robertson.
For Robertson, it would be understandable if he felt it was too soon to potentially see his minutes curtailed by the arrival of a challenger like Kerkez, but at his best the Liverpool man remains one of the top fullbacks in football and there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t win a competition for the starting role.
Even if he doesn’t, between the Premier League, Champions League, and two domestic cups the Reds will hope and expect to play upwards of 60 matches next season—and there will be plenty of minutes for a strong backup be it Tsimikas, Robertson, or Kerkez.
Still, while quality depth is important, three left backs of that calibre are more than any team can justify when none have shown themselves to be positionally flexible, and the expectation remains that one of Tsimikas or Robertson will depart.