“He’s not going to be happy” – Insider claims Slot could axe one player from Liverpool starting XI

Arne Slot has been backed to drop one player from his preferred Liverpool starting XI after the Reds’ most recent match.

The head coach acted decisively in substituting Milos Kerkez just 38 minutes into the win over Burnley on Sunday, with the Hungarian having been on a yellow card for simulation and running the risk of picking up another.

Roy Keane praised the Dutchman for his act of ruthlessness, with Andy Robertson enjoying a strong performance after coming on for the 21-year-old, with one observer now predicting that the first-half change at Turf Moor is one which could stick.

Insider claims Kerkez could be axed from Liverpool starting XI

Ex-Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown – who remains well-connected within the game – has claimed that Liverpool’s number 6 might have to be content with a place on the bench in upcoming fixtures and could face a battle to regain his starting berth.

He told Football Insider: “Kerkez is going to struggle to get back into the team now. The manager made that decision to take him off during the first half, and it was probably the right one because he was at risk of getting sent off.

“If you’re putting the manager in a position where he has to make that call, he’s not going to be happy with your performance.

“Robertson would be the first-choice left-back for the majority of clubs in the Premier League, and he’ll be keen to make his mark and come back into the starting XI.

“I thought when Kerkez was going to Liverpool that he would be a top-class replacement for him. By no means is he a bad player – he’s obviously top quality and they rate him highly at Liverpool, but this is what you need at top clubs in the modern game.

“Players need to know that if they make a mistake or they’re not up to scratch, there’s somebody waiting in the wings to replace them. It’s a bit of healthy competition.

“I expect Kerkez could drop out of the team with Robertson coming in, and then it will be a battle for him to earn his place back in the starting XI.”

Kerkez unlikely to be out of the Liverpool line-up for long

Kerkez might be fearful of one precedent at Liverpool – Slot infamously withdrew Jarell Quansah at half-time in the head coach’s first Premier League game against Ipswich 13 months ago, and the defender (who’s now at Bayer Leverkusen) never managed to regain his place in the line-up.

The 21-year-old isn’t likely to be jettisoned to the same extent, given that he was signed with the Dutchman in charge, although it’s plausible that Robertson could be selected to start against Atletico Madrid and Everton, both of which carry the air of tempestuous fixtures where cool heads will be needed.

The Hungarian could pay a price for his ‘absolutely stupid’ booking on Sunday (in the words of Jamie Carragher), and while we expect that the Reds boss will have a stern word with him behind the scenes and take him out of the firing line momentarily, we don’t envisage the youngster to lose his starting berth on a long-term basis.

Slot frequently alternated between Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas last season, and we imagine that he’ll do the same with the Scot and Kerkez throughout the current campaign, which could see Liverpool play more than 60 matches, depending on their progress in knockout competitions.

The 38th-minute withdrawal of our number 6 at Burnley was tough on him but proved to be the right call, and hopefully he’ll have the resilience to bounce back from it and show us why the club spent £40m to sign him from Bournemouth in June.

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