With their first-choice left-back facing months out, Liverpool have established a new pecking order, with youngster Luke Chambers set to benefit.
The first part of Liverpool’s contingency plan in the absence of Andy Robertson was revealed by Saturday’s Merseyside derby.
As had been expected, Kostas Tsimikas came in to start at left-back, playing his part in a hard-fought 2-0 win over Everton at Anfield.
Of course, if the Greek is to step up to first-choice duties in the weeks ahead, then someone else will need to replace him in the role of understudy.
And that is going to be a vitally important job in a period that features games in both the League Cup and Europa League, with a fixture against Toulouse in the latter competition coming up on Thursday.
Interestingly, a clue as to how Jurgen Klopp will look to fill this vacancy was offered up by events at the academy on Sunday afternoon.
Calum Scanlon may have claimed a coveted spot on the bench when the first team faced Everton, but was given the same role for the U21s’ meeting with Benfica 24 hours later.
And that is because a certain Luke Chambers was named from the start, picking up vital minutes in the aftermath of an ankle injury sustained during the recent international break.
In truth, the defender enjoyed a quiet afternoon, with one memorable dribble down the left and some good work on the cover the sum total of his contribution to a tight game that ended in a 1-1 draw.
If anything at all stood out it was Chambers’ physicality, his six-foot-plus frame making him at times look like a man playing among boys and suggesting he won’t be immediately targeted by diagonal balls should he step up to the first-team environment.
But perhaps the most notable aspect of this outing was that it ended at half-time, much like that of Jarell Quansah, who feels a certain starter in midweek.
That decision suggests Chambers can expect a major opportunity when Toulouse come to town, with his first senior start and only second appearance in the first team potentially up for grabs.
It would represent a significant moment for a player who has been part of the club’s youth setup since the age of just six, one which was far from certain to arise this season given the amount of loan interest Liverpool fielded over the summer.
Chambers had spent the latter half of last season thriving at Scottish top-flight outfit Kilmarnock, even turning down an U20 World Cup call-up from England to help save them from relegation.
And that show of maturity, combined with the quality of his performances, meant several clubs were keen to get hold of the 19-year-old on a similar agreement this term.
Unfortunately, a poorly timed injury denied him a chance to impress Jurgen Klopp in pre-season and also, it seemed, scuppered hopes of another positive temporary move.
However, This Is Anfield understands that the decision not to loan out Chambers had in fact been taken regardless of the fitness issues he faced over the summer.
Instead, it was linked to Liverpool ultimately electing not to strengthen the left-hand side of their defence despite having monitored that market for some time.
In this context, it is interesting that one of the clubs who failed in their loan pursuit was Bayer Leverkusen, whose own left-footed defender Piero Hincapie had previously been tracked by the Reds.
Ultimately, though, both players ended up staying put, leading to Chambers eyeing up a potentially big moment in his fledgling career this week.
With Robertson set to be sidelined for some time yet, Thursday’s game offers a real chance for Chambers to earn himself a sustained run in the first team that has been 13 years in the making.
Fan Comments