Andy Robertson: Talk of £25m fee for Liverpool move is crazy

If the Anfield grapevine is to be believed, Andrew Robertson could become the most expensive player in Scottish football history this summer.

Andy Robertson made his 15th appearance for Scotland in the World Cup qualifier against England at Hampden.

Liverpool’s interest in the Hull City left-back is not disputed but speculation over the size of the potential fee he will command has ranged from £7 million to as much as £25m.

It remains to be seen whether or not Robertson completes a transfer which eclipses the current record of £13mwhich RB Leipzig paid Nottingham Forest for his compatriot Oliver Burke last summer.

The player himself has described the numbers quoted as “crazy” and insists he remains relaxed about his future, having placed any talks with his representatives on hold during the build-up to last Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against England at Hampden.

It was another occasion when Robertson enhanced the reputation he has built south of the Border in his three seasons at Hull, following a near £3million move from Dundee United. The 23-year-old’s display against England drew praise from Sky Sports pundits Graeme Souness and Jamie Redknapp, who both observed he could be the 
ideal solution to Liverpool’s long-standing left-back problem.

“I’ve seen the speculation and heard people talking about it, but I switched my phone off for the last week or two to try to focus on the England game,” 
said Robertson.

“It was such a massive game for all of the boys and it’s unfair for anyone to think about their own club future. I’ll have plenty of time to do that now. I’m looking forward to getting away on holiday and, if something gets sorted in that time, then so be it.

“I think that some of the prices mentioned are crazy. But it’s crazy money down in England. I’m not looking into it that closely.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s unbelievable getting linked with big clubs. That’s where you want to go, of course it is. If there is any truth in it, then so be it. I’ll speak to my agents and see what they have to say. I’ll just be looking to my future and seeing what’s best for me.”

Robertson has one year remaining on his contract with Hull, who turned down a £10m offer for him from Burnley on the final day of the January transfer window this year. Following their 
relegation to the Championship and departure of manager Marco Silva, they are now ready to cash in on one of their prize assets.

Any move this summer would also entail a financial windfall for Dundee United, with Robertson’s former club in line for a 10 per cent slice of any fee. He has been genuinely dismayed by their plight since his departure, his continuing affection for the Tannadice side underlined by his presence among the away support at Hamilton last month when they lost out in the Premiership play-off final.

“I’m not sure about the details of a 
sell-on fee for United if I move, but, if I can help my old club along the way, then so be it,” he added. “But it has to be right for me first and foremost.

“Of course, it’s sad for me to see United where they are at the moment. I went to the away leg of the play-off final, which was probably a mistake as I was in with the mad bunch of the United support up the back of the stand. It was a disappointing day for them. A big club like that deserves to be in the Premiership. There’s a lot of speculation about the situation there just now and it’s a shame they didn’t get up. But they’ve already made a few good signings since then, so, hopefully, next season they can go on and do it.”

Robertson won his 15th cap for Scotland on Saturday and regardless of how many more appearances he makes for his country, he is unlikely to experience more dramatically contrasting emotions than he felt in those astonishing closing minutes when Leigh Griffiths’ free-kick double to put the hosts 2-1 in front were stymied by Harry Kane’s stoppage-time leveller for England.

“When the second free-kick from Griff went in, if we go on and hold on, then it’s the best moment of my career,” he said.

“It’s so hard to take. When we’ve been on such a high, to go to that low so soon is so hard. We need time to reflect on it. Everyone would have taken a point at the start, especially at 1-0 down with 10 minutes to go when they have the possession. But it’s a tough one to take.

“In the first half, we forced England into mistakes in the final third. They are so fast flowing, especially the Tottenham core who are so used to playing with each other, but we were forcing them in behind. We were working hard as a unit. We didn’t make enough chances in the first half, but, in the second half, our change of formation worked.

“Chris Martin [pictured left] came on to give us an outball, got us further up the pitch to win the free-kicks that Griff put away. In the last 10 minutes, we maybe looked like we were running out of gas a wee bit. A few of the boys were getting cramp and we were thinking maybe we didn’t have anything left. Then Griff came up with two unbelievable free-kicks and you get that second wind. It’s a disappointing one to be so close to a victory over England but, in the next few days, we can maybe look back on it as one that is a positive point. We need to take points in every game left in the group now. Whether we need to win them all, I’m not quite sure. We will need to wait and see what other results are.

“We’ve got England out the way and we hope they go on and win every game now. You want them to beat everyone because we need to play catch up on Slovenia and Slovakia. We’ve taken a point and we will move on. The next four games are big, we need to focus on the positives from Slovenia and England. If we do that, then we can get points in all the remaining games.”