Liverpool boss Arne Slot told to kick star out of line-up for a whole month

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Arne Slot has been told to axe Milos Kerkez and restore Andy Robertson to Liverpool 's starting XI after the Hungarian's disappointing start to life at Anfield. The left-back, who arrived from Bournemouth in a £40million summer deal , has faced criticism for failing to match his outstanding displays for the Cherries in the Premier League last term.

The 21-year-old was given the nod in Liverpool's 2-1 defeat away to Chelsea on Saturday but was hauled off after 55 minutes following another lacklustre showing. Kerkez was hammered for his display by Manchester United legend Gary Neville , who insisted he "looked like a baby" and resembled a "youth team player".

Another ex-United star has now echoed Neville's sentiments and urged Slot to withdraw Kerkez from the spotlight for at least a month. Former goalkeeper Ben Foster , who also featured for England and Wrexham throughout his playing days, weighed in after suggesting Robertson could rediscover his peak performance levels if handed a recall.

"He [Neville] absolutely battered him [Kerkez] and called him a youth team player," he said on the Fozcast podcast. "There's times where he does look a little bit like that. He looks so overawed by it all, and it's such a rush of blood to the head.

"I think they're going to have to go back to that [starting Andy Robertson]. He's 31 years old and I think there's so much up in the air about him at the minute because somebody's come in and taken his place. He doesn't really know whether to come or go at the minute.

"He nearly got a move in the summer to Atletico Madrid . I think he's a bit all over the shop. If they said, 'Andy, you're going to be the one that's going to be starting for the next month,' I think you'll see the best version of Andy Robertson back again."

Slot recognised that Kerkez is still getting accustomed to the increased demands at Liverpool when discussing the defeat to Chelsea .

Justifying his choice to substitute the defender, he said: "Milos was more and more tired. He played 90 minutes in two games and now for the third game in a week, which he's not used to when he played at Bournemouth .

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"You could feel and see it got more and more difficult to keep going and their wingers are a threat so we decided to make a change over there."

Scotland skipper Robertson is confronting his biggest challenge yet to retain his spot in the Liverpool team after Kerkez's arrival. The club are believed to regard Kerkez as the future replacement for the 31-year-old, who is currently in his final season under contract at Anfield.

Nevertheless, some Liverpool supporters believe it's the right moment to reinstate Robertson to the first XI. The player has also recently voiced his eagerness to feature more regularly on the pitch.

"I'm sure there will be a bit more rotation," Robertson said. "Whether it happens in my position is yet to be seen, none of us can look into the future. But I believe I've done everything I can to be in the manager's thoughts and that's all I can do."

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