Alberto Moreno is over the moon about the fact he’s re-emerged as Liverpool’s first choice left-back.
At the end of last season, it looked almost certain that the Spaniard would depart, with Jurgen Klopp putting him up for sale.
Bids from Napoli and Swansea were not quite sufficient however, and Moreno ended up staying at Anfield – despite us purchasing Andrew Robertson from Hull.
This term, he’s impressed and has proved many doubters wrong.
“I couldn’t be happier with the way things are going this season,” Moreno told Goal.
“Things were bad over the summer. The word was that I would be leaving and I should not try to stay, but at no point did I agree with that assumption. I wanted to stay. I wanted to fight for my place in the Liverpool team and that is the mindset I had when I came back for pre- season. I wanted to fight for my career and my future at this club.
“It is a club I love and a city I love as well, so all my critics, the people who were saying I should leave, should shut their mouths now I am back in the team.
“Last season was a bad one for me, I spent almost a year without playing many games. It reflected badly on me and my family, because they weren’t having a good time either.
“When I came back this summer I asked for a chat with the manager. I just told him honestly that I wanted to stay and asked him what I could do to win back my place in the side. In return he was very sincere with me, very honest, because he said he couldn’t promise me anything and told me he was signing a new left-back [Andy Robertson].
“But the manager encouraged me to keep working and see how things went in the early part of the season and that is what I did. It enabled me to focus on working hard to get back. I had offers from other clubs but at the forefront of my mind was always that I wanted to stay here.”
Last term, Klopp preferred James Milner at left-back, but this season he’s oddly abandoned that experiment and is using either Moreno or Andrew Robertson.
The Scot has done well when he’s been selected, but in fairness to Moreno, he’s justified his new found role as LFC’s first-choice left-back.
He’s quick, energetic and provides dynamism to the left flank.
Defensively, there’s still questions – but right now – Moreno is not one of Liverpool’s weak points