Data behind Andrew Robertson's 'Natural Drop-off' & No New Contract at Liverpool

The Scotland captain is certain to leave the club in the summer, if not in January

Written on 27/01/2026

The news that Andrew Robertson may be exploring an amicable exit to Tottenham Hotspur in the January window, in order to secure regular game time ahead of the World Cup, is understandable to a large extent. His respect for the club has so far meant that such a move has not yet materialised, with Liverpool keen to secure a replacement first.

At present, AS Roma are unwilling to cut short Kostas Tsimikas’ loan until they find a suitable alternative. Once that happens, the Greek could be allowed to leave, which in turn would enable Liverpool to sanction Robertson’s exit. One to keep an eye on in the coming days on the transfer front.

Amidst all of that, one thing is clear: if not now, the Scotland captain was almost certain to leave Anfield on a free transfer in the summer, when his contract expires. The 31-year-old was unlikely to be offered an extension unless something drastic were to change.

The drop-off in Robertson’s performances over the past 18 months has not come as a surprise. Although he featured in the majority of Liverpool’s successful league campaign last season, there were moments and errors that hinted it was time for the club to look in a different direction. They did exactly that by moving to sign Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth in the summer.

Below, we analyse the numbers in depth to understand how Robertson’s performance has evolved since arriving at Liverpool, starting with his game time.

Game time and Injuries

After taking time to integrate into the starting XI in his first season (2017/18), Robertson crossed the 3,500-minute mark in four of the next five seasons in all competitions (and surpassed 3,000 minutes in the 2022/23 season as well). Beyond the quality and intensity of his performances, the Scotsman was one of the squad’s most reliable players in terms of availability and injury-free consistency.

The 2023/24 campaign brought his first major physical setback at Liverpool, as a shoulder injury kept him out for close to three months, resulting in a drop in game time. In the 2024/25 season (the first season under Arne Slot), his number of starts increased, but there was a decline in the percentage of games he completed while starting.

This indicates that Slot was comfortable taking him off, and the eye test showed that he was slowing down in the second half of games and often needed to be substituted.

This season, post the arrival of Kerkez, Robertson has gone down in pretty much all the playing time metrics so far, with appearances from the bench taking a massive jump.

As discussed earlier, Robertson’s first major injury setback came in the 2023/24 season, which is also reflected by the spike in the line charts here. This season, game time has dropped significantly despite no injury-related absences, highlighting where he currently stands in the pecking order.

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