Liverpool Transfers: 6 Left-Backs the Reds Could Realistically Target This Summer
Of all Liverpool's first-team, only Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold have played more minutes than Andy Roberston in the Premier League in 2019/20.
The £8m Scot will go down in history as one of the Reds' greatest bargains, and seemingly has the lung capacity of a small elephant. However, he could still use some specialist back-up.
James Milner has been a dutiful deputy but he is a not a natural full back and cannot be expected to go on forever, while the current academy options may need more time to develop before seeing first-team action.
Here's a look at six young left backs Liverpool could and should (realistically) target in-keeping with their transfer strategy and needs...
Matt Targett
Starting off (relatively) cheaply and cheerfully, we have Aston Villa's Targett, who has, admittedly, not really shone consistently in Dean Smith's abysmal defence.
However, the 24-year-old - who was briefly linked with Liverpool last summer prior to his Villa move - is a capable Premier League full back in the 'Robertson mould' of being able to get up and down the pitch and put in a decent cross.
Only Diego Rico (Bournemouth) has played more key passes of all the defenders in the division's bottom half this season, while he's registered two assists and a goal from 20 games in 2019/20.
Should Villa end the season (whenever and however that happens) by being relegated, Targett may well be jettisoned at low cost and he would presumably have few qualms about playing second fiddle to Robertson. Chelsea have also been linked.
Potential Price: £10-15m
Ruben Vinagre
Moving up the price bracket but staying in the Premier League, there is the much-discussed Vinagre, who seems to be the people's favourite to deputise/add competition for Robertson.
The 20-year-old Portuguese already has a burgeoning reputation - built largely on his Europa League displays - despite not being a first-team regular at Wolves.
Used at left wing back/left winger in Nuno Espirito Santo's system, Vinagre is an eye-catching player who shone against Liverpool in the 1-0 defeat at Anfield back in December.
While it's clear the Portugal youth international has the potential to spend the next 10 years or more at the highest level, he is under contract until 2024 and with Wolves' Jorge Mendes ties, he might be a difficult player to recruit - especially without offering the promise of regular game time.
Potential Price: £20-30m
Max Clark
Like Robertson, Clark was a Hull City man, before joining Eredivisie Vitesse Arnhem in 2018.
Now 24, he has built a reputation as an exciting attacking full back, while there were even tentative links to Liverpool in the lead up to the January window.
A voracious crosser and chance creator out in the Netherlands (he has seven assists since the start of last season); such was the impressive nature of Clark's form that the relative unknown was included in a Sky Sports prospective best England XI - based on statistical analysis - ahead of Ben Chilwell last year.
Clark's contract expires in 2021, while the most Vitesse have ever received for a player sale was around £14m for Wilfried Bony to Swansea in 2013.
Potential Price: £8-12m
Layvin Kurzawa
Now 27, Kuzawa is a three-time Ligue 1 winner, with 13 senior caps for France, as well around 150 appearances in France's top flight. He is also the first defender to score a hat-trick in the Champions League (since its 90s rebrand).
However, those stats don't really tell the full picture and, truth be told, his career trajectory has stalled somewhat (partly due to injuries and ill-discipline) in the years since he joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2015.
Largely playing second fiddle to Juan Bernat, Kurzawa has gone from being one of France's most exciting attacking full backs (he scored five goals and was named in Ligue 1's Team of the Year in 2014) to an unreliable bit-parter for club and country, whose contract is set to expire at the end of the season.
Nevertheless, despite question marks over his fitness and (occasionally) attitude, he is still being linked with Europe's biggest clubs and surely has the talent to do a similar backup job at Liverpool, if he can stay fit and focussed.
He is also an ex-teammate of Fabinho from their time together at Monaco.
Potential Price: Free
Pervis Estupiñan
22-year-old Ecuador international Estupiñan has been a regular for La Liga side Osasuna this season, impressing with his forward play and crossing (no defender in the division has completed more dribbles in 2019/20), even attracting interest from Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid.
Simeone supposedly taking note bodes well for his quality and, while Estupinan has actually lost the most tackles in La Liga this season - suggesting he's far from the finished article defensively - he's also almost completed the second-most of any player in the division (70) behind only Casemiro.
Interestingly, Estupiñan actually belongs to Watford and is part-way through a two-year loan deal from Vicarage Road. It has been reported that Osasuna have €10m (£8.8m) option to make his loan permanent at any point and could look to flip him for profit.
Potential Price: £12-16m
Gideon Mensah
Rounding off the list is a product of the much-heralded Red Bull system in Ghana international Mensah.
The 21-year-old is yet to make a competitive first-team appearance at RB Salzburg - the club that helped launch the careers of Sadio Mane, Naby Keita and Takumi Minamino - but has built a reputation as a possible 'next big thing' off the production line.
His pre-season performances against the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid caught the attention of some of Europe's biggest clubs, while the youngster himself confirmed that Barcelona had been in touch, while Celtic were also linked.
This season he has been spending the season at Zulte Waregem in Belgium, while he earned his first Ghana cap last year.
An attacking left back, with skill and a wicked set-piece delivery, Mensah is an exciting prospect but as yet untested in top competition.
Potential Price: £6-15m