Kostas Tsimikas is our pick for Liverpool’s breakthrough player of 2021. The Greek has gone from zero to hero in no time at all.
2021 has been a fairly bizarre year for Liverpool. They kicked it all off with their worst form in a decade as their title charge fell to pieces. Then things turned around as Jurgen Klopp fell into a settled formula that eventually delivered a top-four finish.
And that gives us a few names we could pick for a breakthrough player. Nat Phillips, for instance, established himself as a Premier League centre-back alongside Rhys Williams. Both have an argument here.
Neither, however, managed to break into Liverpool’s long-term plans. And that’s why our pick goes to someone who wasn’t involved at all to start the year – Kostas Tsimikas.
Kostas Tsimikas explodes in late 2021
Kostas Tsimikas arrived ahead of last season – he actually arrived before either Thiago or Diogo Jota. Yet while both of those players established themselves in their debut seasons, Tsimikas did not.
In fact, the Greek left-back played a total of six Premier League minutes last season. Six. Across an entire campaign.
Klopp just wasn’t prepared to use a new left-back alongside a make-shift centre-back pairing. That meant Andy Robertson played virtually every minute of every game.
Tsimikas, then, entered pre-season having been at Liverpool for a year and achieving absolutely nothing. We even wondered if the Reds could move him on.
Finally, though, we’re seeing why Liverpool signed him in the first place. Tsimikas has exploded into life in late 2021, looking like a truly top-class left-back.
There have even been calls for him to start ahead of Robertson, who is pretty much the world’s best left-back.
And one look at the stats shows why. For instance, only one player creates more chances per 90 than Tsimikas and that’s Trent Alexander-Arnold (per FBref). Then there’s his defensive record – the left-back hasn’t conceded a goal this season.
We can’t remember such a ridiculous rise as this. Tsimikas has gone from being a completely forgotten player who never played and quickly become someone who rivals a Liverpool great in Robertson.
He’s unquestionably broken into the Liverpool first-team setup and only one question remains – can he actually get ahead of Robertson?
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