Tottenham in talks with Liverpool over Scotland captain Andy Robertson
Robertson has made 363 appearances for Liverpool since he joined from Hull in 2017
Tottenham have opened talks with Liverpool over the signing of Scotland captain Andy Robertson.
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Robertson has made 363 appearances for Liverpool since he joined from Hull in 2017, but has found his starting spot taken this season by summer recruit Milos Kerkez and has entered the final six months of his contract at Anfield.
Liverpool vice-captain Robertson revealed earlier this month that talks were still taking place with the club over a new deal, but Spurs have entered preliminary discussions with their Premier League rivals over securing the services of the 31-year-old, PA understands.
Atletico Madrid attempted last summer to sign Robertson, who opted to stay at Anfield but could now swap Merseyside for London.
Tottenham have struggled under Thomas Frank in recent months and first-choice left-back Destiny Udogie has been hampered by injury problems, which would open the door for Robertson to take on a fresh challenge and earn more regular football.
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After being asked about his future last week, Robertson said: “It’s a difficult question to answer. I’ve got five months left and we need to see the option to stay or if there’s options to go.
“I need to see what myself and my family want moving forward.”
Spurs’ move for Robertson has occurred a day after they completed the transfer of 19-year-old left-back Souza from Santos for 15 million euros (£13 million).
Souza played 38 times for boyhood club Santos and was described as a player for “now but also for the future” by boss Frank.
Djed Spence has been used most regularly at left-back by Frank this season, but he is naturally a right-back and recent poor form earned experienced defender Ben Davies an unexpected opportunity earlier this month.
First-choice Udogie has played 82 times for Tottenham, but struggled with injury issues and only returned on Tuesday from a seven-week absence with a hamstring strain to start against Borussia Dortmund.
Frank’s immediate focus will be to back up the crucial midweek triumph with three more points at Burnley after a testing period.
The seven-month tenure of the Danish coach looked close to being over after Spurs’ own fans chanted for him to be sacked during a 2-1 home loss to West Ham last Saturday.
It extended Tottenham’s poor run and resulted in talks with key figures at the club over whether to cut short Frank’s reign, but he remained for Tuesday’s visit of Dortmund and a comprehensive 2-0 triumph has lifted spirits before Saturday’s trip to Burnley.
“Of course it was a big win for all of us. It was a much needed performance and win,” Frank said.
“Now it’s up to us to build on it, to keep adding layers and keeping the result consistent and also adding even more to the performances.
“The last eight games there’s much more consistency. There’s much more in those performances that could have given us much more than we got so far, but we need to keep it up with another top performance against Burnley.”
Spurs announced later on Friday that midfielder Lucas Bergvall has undergone surgery on his left ankle.
Bergvall was injured in the 57th minute of Tuesday’s win over Dortmund and after he attempted to carry on, he was eventually forced off and is now set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.