Danny Murphy would like to see Liverpool sign a new left-back, but thinks it’s too early to write off Andy Robertson. The Scotland international, who is out of contract at the end of next season, has seen his performances come under increasing scrutiny in recent months.

The 30-year-old, who saw his 2023/24 campaign plagued by injury, was regularly rotated with Kostas Tsimikas during the opening months of the current season after reporting back injured following Euro 2024.

After being substituted after just 63 minutes during a difficult showing against Bukaya Saka and Arsenal back in October, the defender admitted ‘everyone had written me off after that.’

READ MORE: Ibrahima Konate absence now clear as five Liverpool players give Arne Slot boost

READ MORE: Wataru Endo ready for Liverpool change as Arne Slot faces tough selection calls

Robertson has actually started the Reds’ last 10 matches in the Premier League and Champions League after Tsimikas was sidelined by an ankle injury.

But during such a run of games, he has been criticised by onlookers for conceding penalties against both Southampton and Real Madrid and for his role in goals scored by Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City, while he was also sent off early on against the Cottagers for denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Former Liverpool midfielder Murphy has now leapt to Robertson’s defence, but believes the left-back needs new competition at Anfield to push him on and help him rediscover top form.

“Andy Robertson has been one of Liverpool’s best ever left-backs,” Murphy insisted to MyBettingSites.co.uk. “His consistency over the years has been phenomenal.

“The drive, the leadership. I know he’s a character in the dressing room and he’s not as old as people think. He’s got time left.

“I think Liverpool do need some cover there and they’ve got a choice to make whether they try and get someone who can compete with him and push him to hit the levels we know he can or they go for someone who they know can overtake him and become the new left-back. That’s something the recruitment team has to decide.”

Murphy would like to see Liverpool sign Alphonso Davies from Bayern Munich, with the Canada international out of contract at the end of the season, but admits Milos Kerkez of AFC Bournemouth would likely be a more realistic signing.

“If I had to choose I’d go Alphonso Davies,” he said. “I think he’s got the potential to be one of the best left-backs in the world.

"Obviously Alphonso Davies is a difficult one because he’s rumoured to be going elsewhere. I think one of the other two (Antonee Robinson and Milos Kerkez) would be really good competition for him and again with the amount of games they play, it’s not like they wouldn’t be getting game time.

“I really like Robinson at Fulham. I’ve watched him a lot and I think he’s a powerhouse of a left-back and he doesn’t really fit the criteria in terms of age, value for selling on later if that was the case for Liverpool to go for a player of that age.

“Kerkez is a bit younger. Another great overlapping full-back who could learn from Robertson and maybe get minutes in other competitions. So that would probably be more realistic.

“What we know about the Liverpool recruitment team is that they are really good at finding diamonds in the rough. People who we don’t always hear of or who are not obvious choices but then become established players. The names mentioned are terrific players and I do think Robertson needs competition.”

Meanwhile, Murphy has been impressed by his former club’s first half of the season under new head coach Arne Slot, with the Reds currently sitting six points clear at the top of the table while still boasting a game in hand.

However, he has warned Liverpool to be wary of injuries, pointing to potential absences for either Mohamed Salah or Virgil van Dijk as detrimental to their title hopes.

"So far, so good, it's been a phenomenal start,” he told BonusCodeBets.co.uk. “The only thing I can see for Liverpool falling away or jeopardising the potential success is really bad injuries.

"If you were to have an unfortunate spate of injuries where Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah were out for a period, that would make things difficult because the numbers tell you how reliant they are on Salah for goals and assists. Virgil marshals the team brilliantly from the back and gives them the security that nobody else can quite do.

"There's always a risk that you can lose as the season goes on that you can lose your best players. We've seen that with Man City. Arsenal struggled early on without Odegaard, now Saka's injured. It's the same for all the teams."