Deep in the dispatches of another professional 3-0 victory against Norwich City was a remarkable stat. Kostas Tsimikas and Andy Robertson are now tied for assists in 2021. The Greek Scouser's delicious clip from the byline onto the head of Divock Origi was only his second assist of the year in his fourth game, but it was as many as Robertson has managed in 30 games this calendar year. There are certainly extenuating circumstances for both men, but it still represents a remarkable turnaround in fortune.Since becoming first choice roughly six months into his Liverpool career, Robertson has become one of the best left-backs in the world, with his exceptional crossing ability placing him third on the Premier League all-time list for assists by a defender. Indeed, as 2020 came to a close, no one, defender or otherwise, had more assists than him in the preceding two and a half seasons. Legendary numbers.By contrast, Tsimikas' arrival on Merseyside was almost an afterthought, a decision seemingly out of nowhere in the wake of Norwich's £20m valuation for Northern Ireland international Jamal Lewis. Those feelings were only strengthened when Tsimikas couldn't get onto the pitch. His debut season consisted of three starts in all competitions and six Premier League minutes, leading to rumours of an unhappy player rumours that found their way to Italy, with Napoli allegedly testing Jürgen Klopp's resolve to hold onto his reserve.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated ArticlesAs 2020 turned into 2021, Robertson's form began to suffer. The only member of the frontline back four not to sustain an injury, at times it felt like even the indefatigable 'Irn man' was drained. And yet, as bad a year as it has been for him and we can throw in Scotland's disappointing showing at Euro 2020 it's been worse for Tsimikas. He had a front-row seat as Robertson was slowly ground down to a nub, sitting in the sinking realisation that even in this desperate state, he wasn't trusted to relieve the beleaguered Scot.Klopp has pleaded that his hand was forced by a lack of other senior defenders, but ultimately trust, or a lack thereof, was a huge factor. We have seen time and again under the German, it often takes a while to integrate into this Liverpool system. However, incubation is not mandatory. The likes of Mohammed Salah, Gini Wijnaldum, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mané have slotted straight in. Even loan star Ozan Kabak, who only joined in late January, started regularly as Liverpool began to turn their season around. All the while, Tsimikas sat and watched.Alongside what it was doing to his mental state, the lack of game time had a knock-on effect on his reputation. Despite Klopp's reasonable excuses, the rampant rate of injuries striking the squad meant the calls to rest Robertson grew louder and louder. Every team sheet featuring his name felt like an act of bravado an excitable gambler letting it ride one more time after rolling an implausible number of consecutive sevens.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated ArticlesKlopp isn't much of a gambler, but of course, that didn't matter. Modern football suffers from an inability to accept what it doesn't know. Any knowledge gap must be filled with speculation. Just like Ben Davies, the word was that Tsimikas was surely rubbish and should be sold.Those who had seen the 25-year-old play for Olympiacos weren't quite as quick to write him off. Of the left-backs playing for the 'big six' in 2019/20, only Roberston delivered more assists than Tsimikas, according to FBRef. I can already hear you all screaming about the relative quality of the Greek Super League, so it should also be noted that in European competition that year, Tsimikas again held his own, bettered only by Arsenal's Kieran Tierney. Looking deeper than pure assists, Tsimikas was above par in terms of shot-creating actions and successful dribble percentage.Despite the apparent haste of the announcement, Liverpool's transfer committee undoubtedly performed their due diligence and knew what Tsimikas could eventually produce. Thigh and knee injuries will also have robbed him of opportunities to prove he was ready for more responsibility. No doubt the mantra repeated to him at Kirkby was patience, not only from Klopp but also the likes of Fabinho, Henderson and even the man he hopes to replace, Robertson. They have all been in Tsimikas' shoes and have come out the other side, with winners medals to show for it.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated ArticlesIt's a compelling message, but one that would no doubt be hard to accept in the moment. Every player expects a high level of scrutiny on arrival at a big club. However, it's also reasonable to expect an opportunity to retort. To be written off before being given a chance and paradoxically, getting written off precisely because of not getting a chance is hard to take for any professional athlete who got where they are by betting on themselves.As we have seen since, betting on himself is precisely what Tsimikas did. He used that disappointment to fuel his pre-season work and has taken the opportunity given to him by Robertson's summer excursions to force his way into more minutes. The level of performance has been impressive, but equally so has been his consistency. In every game, he has contributed well at both ends.The loudest talking point from his display against Crystal Palace was surviving claims for what would have been a harsh penalty, but within the opponents' dressing room, they would have been well aware of his impact on the contest.Patrick Vieira channeled his inner Baldrick pre-match, talking coyly about a cunning plan to exploit a weakness in Liverpool that he had seen. To study the South Londoners' tactics, it would appear that plan involved using Jordan Ayew as their true target man, backing him to win aerial duels with Tsimikas and provide a base camp from which to start attacks.The Greek won as many battles as he lost and ended the match with a 100% tackle success rate against attempted dribblers. His last Premier League start gave him his "Andy Robbo" moment fighting like a terrier amongst the big brutes in the Burnley defence and emerging with the ball, to the delight of the Anfield crowd. The narrative had begun to shift after an encouraging showing at Carrow Road on opening day, but this was the confirmation: Kostas Tsimikas has arrived as a Liverpool player.So far, it's been worth the wait.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated Articles