‘Kostas Tsimikas is a fighter – the more challenging the video game, the much better he performed’

The Greek remaining-back’s circle of acquaintances incorporates ex-Purple Pedro Chirivella, who invested seven several years on Merseyside ahead of leaving previously this summer season. 

The pair struck up their friendship whilst both of those out on bank loan at Eredivisie facet Willem II for the 2017-18 season, bonding about espresso and foods outdoors of very first-group soccer lifetime.

Normally, Chirivella was ecstatic when news of Tsimikas’ transfer from Olympiacos was verified on Monday night.

“We made use of to hold out a lot just after coaching and it’s a close friend that I will acquire for everyday living,” the Spaniard tells Liverpoolfc.com. “I am really satisfied.

“I texted him yesterday, the first issue I did was congratulate him and his relatives. 

“I know he was waiting around for an chance like this for a extensive time and ultimately he got it, so I am incredibly satisfied.”

That spell at Willem II – the previous club of Virgil van Dijk and Sami Hyypia – proved to be a crucial interval of Tsimikas’ occupation. There, he massively heightened his publicity to senior football.

He started off in all but 1 of his 37 outings that term, scoring 6 ambitions in the approach. That, in switch, captured the notice of Liverpool even again then.

“I recall he grew up a large amount. That yr was crucial for him,” Chirivella, now of FC Nantes in France, recollects. “We had comparable seasons, we were being both on bank loan from big golf equipment and we carried out pretty nicely. It was a quite very good step for Kostas. 

“I know when I was there at Willem II, [people] from Liverpool came to observe Willem II and they were on the lookout at him as well due to the fact he was the standout participant for the workforce.

“The first 7 days of instruction I could see he could get to the prime. Pretty, very talented. He likes to get ahead a ton and also he has a exclusive mentality. 

“He’s a true winner and he isn’t going to treatment who is the winger experiencing him mainly because he’s likely to be at his ideal. When you have a mentality like that, it’s less complicated to execute.

“A single of the features of his character is that he is a winner, he is obtained a excellent mentality and he is a fighter. The more durable the activity was, the much better he executed.”

Kostas Tsimikas: The initially job interview

Jürgen Klopp has welcomed the arrival of an ‘ambitious’ and ‘very good’ footballer, who gathered title-profitable and Champions League experience at Olympiacos.

He’ll bolster Klopp’s defensive ranks forward of the 2020-21 marketing campaign, with Chirivella confident the new No.21 will in shape in nicely with the model and set-up of the crew.

“He’s bought identical attributes to Robbo – he likes to get forward but he is incredibly great defending a single-v-ones,” Chirivella notes. “I assume he’s heading to be a good signing for the club.

“He [Klopp] will be extremely significant for Kostas, I assume he will discover a lot. He’s however youthful and he continue to has a whole lot of issues to increase [on], like all people, so he will be beautifully managed by the gaffer.”