Sami Hyypia has backed Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas to make the most of the ‘chance’ which has been presented to him at Anfield.
The £75,000-per-week Greece international (Capology) has played second fiddle to Andy Robertson in the left-back pecking order ever since joining the Reds in 2020, but the Scotland captain has now been sidelined for an extended period because of surgery on a shoulder injury.
It means the 27-year-old is in line to become a regular starter over the coming months, and the former LFC centre-back has every confidence in him to rise to the challenge.
Speaking at a Nike Game On initiative, in conjunction with the LFC Foundation (via RTE), Hyypia said of Tsimikas: “I think he will get a lot of responsibility now and he has his chance to show what kind of player he is. Hopefully he is courageous and takes his chance.
“If that is not going to work then Jurgen [Klopp] needs to think of something else to solve the problem but I have confidence in Tsimikas that he can do the job.”
Prior to last weekend’s Merseyside derby, Tsimikas had only made 18 starts in three-and-a-bit seasons at Liverpool (WhoScored), a tally he could be in line to double over the coming months depending on when Robertson is able to return.
The Greek left-back struggled initially against Everton and needed a reassuring pep talk from Klopp in the first half, but although the Scotland captain will be difficult to replace, we share Hyypia’s confidence in the 27-year-old to fill the void with conviction.
The Kop cult hero has never let the Reds down when trusted by the manager, famously scoring the decisive penalty in the FA Cup final shootout in 2022 and delivering a man-of-the-match performance in the Champions League quarter-finals against Benfica a month earlier.
Tsimikas will be well aware that fate has now presented with him with his golden opportunity at Liverpool and that the onus is on him to capitalise upon it and prove a point to his manager.
If Klopp trusts in him to do just that, then so do we.
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