With Liverpool moving for Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez, we look into why the Hungary international might be a perfect fit at Anfield.
Liverpool have had to move on from an iconic full-back already this summer, with Trent Alexander-Arnold departing for Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong arriving to cover the right side.
There have been questions asked about the left, too, with rumours that Kostas Tsimikas could be leaving and concerns about the Andy Robertson‘s ability to maintain the very high levels he’s shown since signing from Hull City back in 2017.
Robertson has seen his assist numbers dry up in the last two seasons, only managing four in total across 2023-24 and 2024-25 after recording 26 over the two campaigns prior to that. But that could be due to a change in style as much as inefficiency.
That said, overall criticism of the Reds’ first-choice left-back has felt quite harsh. Robertson played 45 games for Liverpool this season, and 33 in the Premier League as they went on to win the title with relative ease. That would have been exceptionally difficult to do with a badly underperforming left-back.
However, with the Scot now 31 years old and entering the final year of his contract at Anfield, it makes sense to plan for the present and the future. With Liverpool supposedly close to signing Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth, they appear to be doing just that.
Kerkez arrived in the Premier League in July 2023 from Eredivisie side AZ and impressed in his first season, albeit he only recorded a single assist in his 33 appearances in all competitions for the Cherries.
He played more minutes (1,975) than any other under-21 defender in the Premier League in 2023-24, showing his dependability and just how much Andoni Iraola rated him. The Cherries boss gave his left-back even more licence to get up the pitch this season, which saw him score two goals and register five assists in the league.
Kerkez’s numbers were also up in terms of chances created per 90 minutes (from 0.5 to 0.9), possession won per 90 (4.1 to 4.6) and interceptions per 90 (0.9 to 1.2).
The 21-year-old, who was born in Vrbas, Serbia but represents Hungary at international level, spoke to The Athletic earlier this year and explained how it took time to adapt to the Premier League, also emphasising the importance he places on defending.
“Last season helped me to experience the league and how it is, the speed and physicality of it,” he said. “The manager has trust in you and gives you time to adapt because he knows you have the quality and he knows it is just a matter of time until you pop out and start to do your stuff more.
“I like to be aggressive but in a sporting way – in a football way. I like to compete a lot. As a full-back, you have to do both [defend and attack], but first of all is your defensive game. If you’re not a good defender, you’re not going to play or compete for trophies.
“Last season I had to work on my defensive awareness, to not switch off. I now stay focused for the whole game and I believe I’m doing both pretty well this season.”
That dedication to defending will be music to Liverpool fans’ ears, especially those who are somewhat concerned about how open their team could be if new signing Jeremie Frimpong plays at right-back given his propensity for getting forward at every opportunity.
Looking at ‘true tackles’ – made up of tackles, challenges lost and fouls when attempting a tackle – Kerkez has a 66.7% success rate (52/78), losing only 14 challenges and committing just 12 fouls from them, which compares favourably to Robertson (60% – 39/65) and Alexander-Arnold (55% – 72/131).
His improvements going forward were apparent in Bournemouth’s 2-1 win over Manchester City in November, when Kerkez provided both assists for his team. First, he beat Phil Foden brilliantly down the left before cutting the ball back for Antoine Semenyo to finish, and then he played an inch-perfect ball across for Evanilson to double the lead.
Kerkez also showed his energy and composure in a dominant 4-1 win for Andoni Iraola’s men at Newcastle United in January. With the score 3-1 to the visitors in the 96th minute, the Hungary international sprinted forward to take advantage of some space in the Newcastle half, before collecting the ball, taking on Kieran Trippier and firing past Martin Dúbravka.
That burst of energy was no outlier, either. Kerkez recorded the fourth most sprints in the Premier League this season (845), behind only Daniel Muñoz (905), Antonee Robinson (876) and Bryan Mbeumo (870).
His ability to get up and down the left could see him provide plenty of ammo for Liverpool’s forwards; only Fulham’s Robinson (170) and Tottenham Hotspur’s Pedro Porro (133) recorded more than his 132 open-play crosses in the Premier League this season, with Robertson making 85. Robinson (42) was also the one player to record more than Kerkez’s 35 successful open-play crosses in England’s top flight in 2024-25.
A lot of those will have come from his tendency to make either overlapping or underlapping runs when his team are in possession. In the Premier League this season, only two players made more overlapping runs than Kerkez (66), while no one underlapped more often than him (52).
Robertson also ranked highly for both (33 overlaps – 10th most, 39 underlaps – 7th most), so having the energy to run beyond the defensive line is certainly something Arne Slot wants from his left-back.
It’s not just runs off the ball to receive a pass where Kerkez is threatening, though. On the ball, he’s able to progress play forward through his ability to drive upfield.
Only 12 players recorded more than his 144 long progressive carries (carries that move the ball at least 10 metres upfield) in the Premier League this season; that’s an average of 3.9 per 90, more than Robertson’s 3.2 and Tsimikas’ 2.4.
One area in which Kerkez may have to adapt is distribution. If he was to join Liverpool, he’d be moving to a team that values possession; however, he completed just 80.4% of 36.4 passes per 90 for Bournemouth in 2024-25. Granted, a degree of that will be because Bournemouth play so often in transition and aim to get the ball forward as quickly and as often as possible. For instance, 37.2% of their passes in 2024-25 were forward, the third-greatest proportion in the division, and those passes are inherently harder to complete.
But for comparison, Robertson averaged 88% from 55.7 passes per 90, while Tsimikas averaged 91.1% accuracy from 56.7 passes per 90.
He may adapt seamlessly, but either way, there’s a philosophical difference between his current club and prospective new employers, and that could take some getting used to.
Nevertheless, if he does join the Reds, there’ll be an expectation that he influences the game in offensive areas, and that shouldn’t be a problem. Among Premier League defenders to play at least 1,000 minutes in 2024-25, only four – Rico Lewis, Josko Gvardiol, Jurriën Timber and Alexander-Arnold – averaged a higher proportion of their successful passes in the opposition’s half than Kerkez (58.8%). That shows just how advanced Kerkez gets and where on the pitch he’s attempting to link with teammates.
Still just 21, Kerkez is certainly not the finished product, so keeping the experience and reliability of Robertson around may allow Liverpool to have the best of both worlds next season as they attempt to fight on all fronts.
And on the subject of reliability, Kerkez was one of just six outfield players in the Premier League to start all 38 games for his team this season.
Assuming Robertson sticks around for the last year of his contract, it’s unlikely Kerkez would be needed to start every game for Liverpool in 2025-26. But should he swap the Vitality Stadium for Anfield, the Hungary international’s development will attract even more eyeballs over the next few years as he aims for the incredibly high ceiling that appears to be within reach.
Enjoy this? Subscribe to our new football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Milos Kerkez Can Be Liverpool’s Ideal Successor to Andy Robertson Opta Analyst.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Milos Kerkez Can Be Liverpool’s Ideal Successor to Andy Robertson )
Also on site :