'Brilliant' and 'a real character' - Liverpool sign Kerkez for £40m

Liverpool person taken their summertime spending to astir £170m pinch nan signing of left-back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth successful a woody worthy £40m.

The 21-year-old Hungary world has signed a five-year statement pinch nan Reds.

Kerkez is Liverpool's 3rd awesome signing of nan transportation window, pursuing nan presence of attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz and right-back Jeremie Frimpong, some from Bayer Leverkusen.

Liverpool paid a nine grounds £116m, made up of an first £100m and a further £16m successful imaginable add-ons, for German interntaional Wirtz and £29.5m for Dutchman Frimpong. Hungary Under-21 keeper Armin Pecsi has besides arrived astatine Anfield for a interest of up to £1.5m.

"It's a existent honour for me, a privilege to travel to play for 1 of nan biggest clubs successful nan world, [the] biggest nine successful England. I'm conscionable really, really happy and excited," said Kerkez.

"After this, I'll spell location and successful my hometown bask a fewer days, and past I can't really hold to travel backmost and put nan training kit connected and commencement to train and hole for nan season."

Liverpool will besides motion Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili this summer, having agreed a woody to motion him from Valencia for a interest of £25m positive £4m successful add-ons past summer.

It is simply a awesome measurement successful nan profession of nan left-back, but Kerkez has played for a European 'super club' before.

In early 2021 he received a telephone telephone from AC Milan fable Paolo Maldini, who convinced him to subordinate nan Serie A side.

As nan 17-year-old Kerkez said astatine nan time, you don't move down Maldini.

With hindsight, he perchance wishes he had.

The Hungarian ne'er started a competitory lucifer for Milan and a twelvemonth later was shipped disconnected to AZ Alkmaar successful nan Dutch Eredivisie.

Bournemouth saw imaginable successful nan marketplace and took a chance connected Kerkez by signing him for an undisclosed interest successful July 2023. The bet paid off.

Kerkez started each 38 of nan Cherries' Premier League games successful nan 2024-25 season, helping them to a club-record full of 56 points successful nan apical flight.

Kerkez is now astatine a elephantine European nine erstwhile more.

Four years connected from his presence successful Milan, will it activity retired for nan full-back this clip around?

In short, he was a apical performer for nan Cherries.

Bournemouth breezed past their top-flight grounds points full successful April and managed to decorativeness successful nan apical half of nan Premier League for nan 2nd clip successful their history.

Their good shape was mostly acknowledgment to head Andoni Iraola's high-intensity, high-energy and high-pressing philosophy.

Adventuring up nan near side, Kerkez played a awesome portion successful nan team's success.

The left-back classed 3rd for nan astir distanced covered among each Premier League full-backs successful 2024-25 and 3rd for astir sprints.

He made nan third-most crosses from unfastened play successful nan Premier League and had 7 extremity involvements (two goals and 5 assists).

Defensively, Kerkez whitethorn not beryllium nan game's astir prolific tackler, but he is still firmly successful nan Premier League's apical 20 full-backs for interceptions (1.21) and shot recoveries (4.55) per 90 minutes.

Arguably his champion crippled of nan play came successful Bournemouth's 2-1 location triumph complete champions Manchester City successful November erstwhile he group up some goals aft lung-busting runs and pinpoint crosses.

"Kerkez was brilliant, not only offensively but defensively arsenic well," erstwhile Manchester City defender Micah Richards told BBC Match of nan Day that evening.

Former Bournemouth defender Joe Partington told BBC Radio Solent a fewer months later: "He's a standout player. He's progressive successful moments that specify nan outcomes of games."

In March, erstwhile Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha told BBC Sport: "Kerkez is 1 of nan champion left-back prospects successful nan Premier League."

Liverpool presently person an established left-back successful Andy Robertson, who played successful 33 of 38 convention games successful nan 2024-25 campaign.

Robertson, 31, joined Liverpool from Hull City for £10m successful 2017 and has won a raft of awesome trophies pinch nan club, including a Champions League and 2 Premier League titles.

But Robertson trailed Kerkez successful cardinal areas for illustration assists, region covered and possession won successful nan play conscionable ended and is simply a target for Atletico Madrid.

"If they want that style of full-back, past Kerkez has already shown he tin do it successful nan Premier League," said BBC Radio Solent's Bournemouth commentator Jordan Clarke.

"He's very self-confident. That's what comes crossed and what you perceive from those successful nan club. He'll backmost himself going to a large club."

That position is shared by Liverpool instrumentality and podcaster Lukleiva who told BBC Radio Merseyside this month: "Kerkez wouldn't travel successful and only play half nan games.

"He's 1 of nan breakout stars of nan Premier League season. You decidedly want Kerkez [to start].

"Whether that is thing Robertson is consenting to broadside pinch aliases whether he'd past want to move on, that's thing they request to talk about."

Kerkez's presence will astir apt awesome nan extremity of nan roadworthy astatine Anfield for either Robertson aliases second-choice left-back Konstantinos Tsimikas.

With Kerkez expected to return Robertson's starting slot, will nan Scotland world want to look elsewhere for much regular football?

Kerkez was convinced by five-time Champions League victor Maldini to take AC Milan erstwhile he near Hungarian broadside Gyor.

He was fixed immoderate minutes successful pre-season successful summertime 2021 but ever classed down Milan's much elder left-backs Theo Hernandez and Fode Ballo-Toure.

Kerkez departed for AZ Alkmaar successful January 2022 having ne'er played a competitory lucifer for nan Serie A club.

The Hungarian told journalist Gianluca di Marzio, external that asking Milan to time off connected a imperishable ground was "the champion determination of my career".

The pursuing play Kerkez played successful each but 1 Eredivisie lucifer arsenic AZ vanished third, and he helped his broadside scope nan Europa Conference League semi-finals wherever they mislaid 3-1 connected aggregate to West Ham.

From location he moved to Bournemouth for an undisclosed interest successful summertime 2023.

"When Kerkez first arrived, Bournemouth had been looking for a very circumstantial type of attacking full-back, personification who ticked each nan boxes," said BBC Radio Solent's Clarke.

"There was a batch of hype astir him joining, nan fans were excited. He was a very earthy talent and he had a fewer problems early connected playing to Bournemouth's strength and struggling to get done nan afloat 90 minutes. But you could ever spot nan talent was there.

"Credit to Bournemouth's coaches, they've developed him into a superb attacking left-back who this play has added goals and assists to his game.

"Defensively too, I can't retrieve excessively galore times he's been beaten."

One word: haircuts.

Kerkez has had a batch of them successful nan past year, changing his style, and his barber.

Back successful November, Justin Kluivert said he had been fixed nan task of cutting his team-mate's hair.

In nan adjacent game, distant to Wolves, Kerkez scored 1 and Kluivert struck a hat-trick.

"That tells you a small spot astir nan benignant of personification he is successful nan dressing room. The assurance and nan positivity he brings," added Clarke.

"He's a existent character. Kluivert and nine skipper Adam Smith some talked a batch astir their relationship pinch him. Everyone astatine Bournemouth loved his energy."