Liverpool have officially signed left-back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth and there can be every confidence they have brought in Andy Robertson‘s ideal successor.
Paul Konchesky. Jose Enrique. Aly Cissokho. Jon Flanagan. Alberto Moreno. The list could go on.
The role of Liverpool’s first-choice left-back was not an easy one to fill for almost a decade-and-a-half. Just ask James Milner, for whom 53 of his 332 appearances for the club came there, reluctantly.
It is not a problem exclusive to Anfield, either, with Man City and Arsenal both recycling through left-backs over the years at great cost while still resorting to unorthodox solutions to the position.
That was until Robertson – and now, with Kerkez arrived as his successor, all signs are that it will be a smooth transition.
Yet there will be a unique pressure on the 21-year-old signed from Bournemouth: the most expensive full-back in the club’s history and replacement for the greatest left-back to ever represent Liverpool.
Kerkez the person
Not that that should be a concern, with Kerkez exuding the confidence of a player whose career is charting exactly how he wants it – even if that has meant playing in six different countries, for eight different clubs, before his 22nd birthday.
Born in Serbia, to Serbian parents, he resolved to represent Hungary – the country of his paternal grandmother – at the age of 14, at which point he was playing in Austria for Rapid Wien’s youth teams.
Having left boyhood club OFK Vrbas for Vienna in 2014 he then made the move to Hungary in 2019 for spells with Hodmezovasarhely and then Gyor, before a call from Paolo Maldini convinced him to make the jump to AC Milan in Italy.
That brought him his first brush with Liverpool and future teammates like Conor Bradley, representing Milan’s U19s in the UEFA Youth League.
A lack of opportunities in Milan’s first team led Kerkez to the Netherlands a year later, joining Arne Slot‘s former club AZ Alkmaar for a season before finally making his way to the Premier League with Bournemouth.
Kerkez is well travelled but impressively grounded, telling The Athletic‘s Caoimhe O’Neill in March: “I would rather go home for my vacation and be with family or friends in my hometown than travel to Ibiza, for example.
“I can do everything at home in Serbia, I don’t need to go anywhere else. I built my home there.
“I am going to have all the fun I need in my hometown, so I don’t need to go anywhere else.”
That should allay any concerns over the player’s character after making it clear that he intended to leave Bournemouth for Liverpool and a questionable interview alongside his father, Sebastijan, in which details of the deal were divulged.
During that conversation with Serbian podcast Super Indirektno, Kerkez Sr. attested to the influence of Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes, formerly technical director at Bournemouth, saying “if he had said we were going to India, we would have gone to India.”
Dominik Szoboszlai will have given a fond recommendation for one of his closest friends in football, too, while Kerkez should have no problems settling into Slot’s squad as he is fluent in English, German, Serbian and Hungarian, and comfortable speaking Italian.
Kerkez the player
Clearly there has been enough due diligence conducted on Kerkez the person, while there are now two seasons worth of evidence that Kerkez the player is capable of taking the next stage at the top end of the Premier League.
It would be wrong to label Kerkez the next Andy Robertson, but there are clear similarities in his game.
Namely, that comes with the boundless energy required of a modern full-back – among the most frequent sprinters in last season’s Premier League – but also the defensive sensibility that will be essential in Slot’s system.
“Maybe people see how much I go forward and they forget about my defending but the first thing I’m good at is defending, one v one, in the duels,” he told the Guardian‘s Ben Fisher last year.
“Anything extra is a bonus, because I have the energy to do it, so why not? It is the best thing for us as defenders, to lock down the wingers.”
He is a bullish tank of a left-back with a stocky frame and legs that, when they get going, begin to blur as he takes his opposing right-back on and threatens in the final third.
Per FotMob, Kerkez won 152 duels in last season’s Premier League, ranking him in the top 11 percent of players in his position, which is considerably more than Robertson (61) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (101).
The Hungary international is also in the 89th percentile for chances created, 93rd for successful crosses and 87th for successful dribbles, with Robertson ranking in the 92nd, 90th and 43rd respectively.
He is a left-back who wants to defend first and foremost, but also provides an outlet in dangerous attacking positions on a regular basis.
There will be an adjustment period in moving to Liverpool – he only averaged 61 touches per 90 minutes in last season’s Premier League while Robertson has averaged 89 per 90 during this time at Anfield – but that will no doubt have factored in the club’s analysis.
Goals, assists and availability!
It will have been the job of Liverpool’s data scientists to pore over the underlying figures, but for supporters the moments to relish will be in those clips joyfully shared on social media.
Kerkez’s stunning assist for Marcus Tavernier in March’s 2-2 draw at Tottenham is the standout: intercepting a loose pass in his defensive third and driving forward before bending a perfect cross into the box for his right-back to finish at the far post.
There was also a brace of assists in a statement 2-1 win over Man City in November and goals in victories over Wolves and Newcastle.
In total, Kerkez scored two and assisted six as he started all 38 games as Bournemouth broke their points record by finishing ninth in the Premier League, and that availability – only missing one game in all competitions – which will be as valuable as his end product.
Availability and consistency were the qualities Robertson built his reputation around at Anfield, and in Kerkez, Liverpool look to have signed a player who can replicate that for the next decade to come.
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