Milos Kerkez became Liverpool’s third signing of the summer, completing a move from Bournemouth worth around £40 million.
Liverpool have spent heavily already this summer, their expenses reaching a fee of around £185 million before we have even reached July. The club are evidently looking to maintain standards set last season and even go beyond them and win multiple titles.
Not participating in the FIFA Club World Cup could be another potential factor to give them an advantage over Manchester City and European rivals.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Hungarian international completes the reigning champion’s new look full back pairing of himself and Jeremie Frimpong.
The reds have opted for youth and athleticism to replace the legendary attacking output provided for them by Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold over the last eight years. A partnership which contributed to the club winning each title available to them in that time.
It is uncertain at this moment whether 31 year old Robertson will depart the club this summer, however it looks as if Arne Slot has identified his most like for like successor.
Kerkez is a highly dedicated defender who puts his body on the line, despite being a forward thinking left back. His profile line’s up similarly to Robertson’s in that regard.
The pair share athletic traits which provide their teams heaps of energy to bomb up and down the pitch, as well as a burning desire to defend.
The former Bournemouth man played 900 more minutes than Robertson throughout the 2024/25 Premier League season, featuring in every single match. Kerkez’ output was also superior to Robertson’s, contributing to 5 more goals than the Scot managed, despite the latters team scoring more goals than any other team in the league last season.
Kerkez managed 0.59 successful take ons per 90 minutes compared to Roberton’s 0.33. The Hungarian also came out on top in expected assists, chances created and crosses into the penalty area with 0.73 a match. This put him into the 94 percentile in the entire league and will fit Liverpool’s style and philosophy to a tee.
Slotting into the best defence in the league last season with Virgil Van Dijk by his side and Allison in goal behind him will only help develop the defensive side of Kerkez’ game and ease the rawness out of it.
The level of his teammates certainly helped bring out a version of Robertson which we had not seen before after he made the jump from Hull City.
Kerkez is a good dueller who excels physically, but his positional awareness and tendency to turn off have occasionally been exposed. This is not unheard of in any case in young full backs, but will need to be improved on in the near future.
An area in which Kerkez might have to evolve is his ability to play out the back with coolness and composure. Liverpool are a possession dominant side and he will be expected to bypass the press under pressure in deep areas of the pitch.
Embed from Getty ImagesKerkez completed just 80.4 percent of 36.4 passes per 90 minutes for Bournemouth last season. However, a portion of that will be due to Bournemouth’s opposing and direct style of play.
But for comparison, Robertson averaged 88 per cent from 55.7 passes per 90 minutes.
He may take to his new club with ease imminently, but either way, there’s a philosophical difference between his former club and new employers, and that could take some getting used to.
Despite this, there will be a demand and chip on his shoulders that Kerkez influences the game in offensive areas, helping to fill the void left by Alexander-Arnold, which will not be a one man job, but the job of multiple players.
Embed from Getty ImagesWritten by Max Pollen
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