Jürgen Klopp’s best Liverpool transfer was received with little enthusiasm by the fans

Even Andy Robertson was a little surprised at his move to Liverpool.

“It feels a bit surreal,” he said of the club’s official website after the switch was complete.

“I just want to prove to people that I can do it at this level, and hopefully I can do it this season and continue to do good things for this club.”

It was a humble start for a humble player.

At a time when social media transfers were making waves – who can forget to announce Salah? – Robertson’s arrival felt a bit inconspicuous.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

After all, Robertson is about disrupting opportunities. He had to go the hard way to Anfield.

Robertson’s story is common. He came from the relegation of Hull City and had only worked in a call center years before when he played for the Scottish third division team Queens Park.

So it was not surprising that his signature did not give impulses to Liverpool fans.

The defender admitted this himself this week as he considered moving to Anfield.

“Obviously the belief that I was primarily committed to a relegation club, which I probably don’t think I got many Liverpool fans excited about my signature when people like Mo and Ox were signed at the same time,” he said.

After three years, Robertson is arguably the most satisfactory signing in the Klopp era.

He is the man who not only underlines the impact of German on the careers of his players, but also the cleverness of Michael Edwards and his recruiting team.

When they work together, there is no one in world football who is so good at engaging and improving players.

Eventually, the Scotsman was to play the second violin after Alberto Moreno at the time of Robertson’s arrival and came after Liverpool’s efforts to sign Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon failed.

Edwards and his staff cared little about where a footballer came from or who he was playing for. If the numbers were correct, Liverpool would be interested.

Ian Graham was brought to Anfield by Edwards in 2012 and played a key role in identifying Robertson as the right candidate to strengthen left-back options.

The Welshman, who holds a PhD in theoretical physics, explained how the data gathered by Liverpool showed Edwards and his team the potential of Robertson.

“It is important to mention that a player’s commitment is a multidisciplinary exercise,” he said.

“They have traditional methods of scouting and newer methods of video scouting and the manager has to be on board and enthusiastic about a player.

“My role is data analysis of football analysis. This is the newer side, and the kind of players that I really like are players who shine through the data, but of course don’t shine through for a typical soccer fan or scout. “

“It’s the kind of awkward or awkward-looking player that has been somehow overlooked. One of my favorite players is Andy Robertson, our left-back, one of the best left-backs in Europe and now of course European champion.

“Andy’s problem was mostly his background. He didn’t start playing Premier League football until he was 22 years old. He played for Hull City, which is not a very good football team.

“You were relegated from the Premier League and Andy was the best young full-back in Britain at the time. He was in the strange situation of being a really great offensive full-back playing on a really bad defensive team.”

At first glance, Robertson’s numbers in Hull didn’t look too impressive. Only two templates didn’t look very good on paper, but he was a competent crosser with 119 points. Liverpool would ultimately benefit from this.

Even Graham, Edwards and their team would have been pleasantly surprised at the impact Robertson had on Liverpool.

His arrival would herald a change of style for the Reds. Philippe Coutinho’s exit six months later saw Klopp’s midfield as a platform on which the full-backs could bomb and get more involved.

An injury to Moreno before Christmas would finally make Robertson break and he never looked back. Together with Trent Alexander-Arnold, they are now Liverpool’s two most creative players with a personal – and friendly – fight for templates.

Today Robertson is considered one of the best left-backs in world football and a key player for Klopp.

It wasn’t obvious when he arrived, but Liverpool shouldn’t really be surprised that Robertson went against expectations.

He’s done it all his career.