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The year is 2040. Robots and climate change, technology and destruction.

Driverless cars roam the planet as the wealthy plan their summer holidays; Mars or Venus this year, do you think?

The United Kingdom is no more, Scotland and Wales thriving as independent nations as England flounders under the guidance of a Prime Minister who once finished fourth on Love Island. Damn the under-10s and their pesky text votes.

And there in the middle of the chaos are Liverpool , doing what they do best; trying desperately to fix their left back problem.

It’s an issue as old as time, as far as Reds fans are concerned. How much energy, how much time, how much money has been spent searching for that solution?

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Some have shone. Jamie Carragher and Jon Flanagan did admirable jobs there for a season or so, while Glen Johnson often looked better there than he did in his ‘natural’ position. Fabio Aurelio’s quality was undermined by his injury record, while John Arne Riise was a whole-hearted presence who left some wonderful memories.

The general theme, though, is one of disappointment.

Pay tribute to mediocrity by reeling off the names of those who have tried and failed. Andrea Dossena, Emiliano Insua, Jose Enrique, Paul Konchesky, Djimi Traore, Christian Ziege, Gregory Vignal, Aly Cissokho, Alberto Moreno. Ouch.

James Milner, converted from a right-sided midfielder into a left-sided defender at the age of 30, fared better than that lot, but few would argue the need for a specialist, top-quality addition if Liverpool are to continue their upwards trajectory.

Understandable, then, that the clubs plans in that regard should concern supporters.

(Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

It’s not that Andy Robertson is a bad player, necessarily. He’s a good age, has a decent left foot and has generally done okay in the Premier League (and Championship) for Hull City over the past couple of seasons.

But is ‘okay’ enough? Liverpool are heading for the Champions League. They want to challenge for the Premier League title. ‘Okay’ will not cut it. Not this time.

What’s the saying; you buy badly, you buy twice? Robertson’s other suitors this summer, it is understood, are Burnley and Watford. Moreno, by way of comparison, is wanted by Napoli among others. Instructive?

(Image: 2017 Getty Images)

We know Liverpool are struggling to land their ‘priority’ targets this summer – Naby Keita and Virgil Van Dijk will require more than a little negotiating and plenty of political manoeuvring, you feel – but harsh as it may sound, the idea of heading into the new season with Milner and Robertson as senior left back options would be more than a little underwhelming.

This, you may have heard, is a crucial summer for Liverpool. They need desperately to maintain the momentum of last season, to capitalise on any weakness in their rivals, to reaffirm their place as a club heading in the right direction.

To do that they must spend, and spend well.

And crucially, that involves finding a fix to that age old problem. Preferably before 2040.