Neil Jones has named one Liverpool youngster who could be ‘in the frame’ to break into Jurgen Klopp’s starting line-up over the coming weeks.
The Reds were dealt a significant body blow during the international break with the shoulder injury to Andy Robertson, which looks set to rule him out for the foreseeable future, with no definite timeframe put on how long he’ll be absent.
As things stand, Kostas Tsimikas is set to come in as our starting left-back for the time being, although one rising young talent may also be given opportunities to shine sooner rather than later.
Speaking to Empire of the Kop’s Substack about the Greek defender, Jones stated: “This is a chance for Liverpool to say ‘there you go, you’re in a big Premier League game, you’ve filled in before for us, can you step up and fill Robertson’s shoes?’
“If not or if he does and Liverpool have to find a replacement for the Europa League to rest Tsimikas, then Luke Chambers is definitely in the frame.”
While we’re still waiting to discover an accurate timeframe on Robertson’s absence, it seems highly unlikely that he’ll play this side of Halloween.
Between now and the November international break in four weeks’ time, Liverpool will play Toulouse twice in the Europa League, as well as Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup, so there’s a strong chance that Chambers comes in for Tsimikas for some (possibly all) of those.
It’d be quite the elevation for the 19-year-old, who’s only played a single minute competitively for the Reds thus far (Transfermarkt), although he’s been battle hardened by his involvement in a relegation battle while on loan at Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership last season.
Obviously the circumstances surrounding Robertson’s injury mean that any senior game-time for the teenager over the next few weeks would arise from an unwanted scenario, but such are the breaks which can launch careers.
For instance, who’d have thought at the beginning of 2017 that Trent Alexander-Arnold would be starting a Champions League final less than 18 months later?
Fate has played a hand which could potentially see young Chambers on the cusp of a hugely significant period in his fledgling Liverpool career. If he gets his chance, hopefully he can make the most of it.