Reds Look to Gutierrez as Fullback Solution

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The Girona man could available at a cut rate price.

After holding down the position for seven years, featuring prominently in the best left-back in the world conversation for the majority of that time, it appears as though Andy Robertson’s best days are behind him, as the Scot has struggled with both injuries and individual errors over the past 18 months.

A change in play style — the left full-back had traditionally been allowed free rein to bomb up the flank at every opportunity in Robertson’s early Liverpool tenure, but has transitioned into more of a quasi centre-back in recent seasons — paired with a loss of athleticism has left the 30-year old looking more out of his element than used to be the case, and the overwhelming feeling is that the position needs to be addressed in the summer at the latest.

Enter Miguel Gutiérrez who, with 14 league assists in the past two and a half seasons at the Estadi Montilivi, has been tipped to make the move to a bigger club now that Girona has been stripped for parts following their upset third place finish in last year’s La Liga. The 23-year old has thrived in Míchel’s free-flowing attacking system, and, according to Fichajes, has a release clause of a mere €35m in his contract, with the club willing to listen to offers south of that.

While the player’s age and goal contributions record would make him seem an obvious candidate for a move up the ladder — interest from former club Real Madrid would certainly bolster that notion — it is worth asking whether the 23-year old fits the profile that Arne Slot is looking for going forward.

Gutierrez excels at moving the ball up the pitch, both passing and carrying, and is undoubtedly elite at finding a team-mate in the opposition area, but he also regularly features in the bottom five percent for tackles won by fullbacks, and he gets beat one on one more often than he comes out on top, boasting a career tackle success rate of only 48%.

These numbers, along with the evolution of full-back play at Anfield in recent years, makes what would have looked like a slam dunk fit two years ago a far more dubious proposition, and we would, for now, advise caution to anyone chomping at the bit to get their Miguel kit order in early.