Arne Slot and Richard Hughes give Milos Kerkez SEAL of APPROVAL

By the time Andy Robertson had booted Harry Wilson in the shins yesterday, denying Fulham a goalscoring opportunity and earning himself a red card, it had been confirmed that Liverpool needed to sort out their left-back problem quickly.

Liverpool were already 1-0 down at this point, with Robertson failing to track Andreas Pereira’s back-post run as Trent Alexander-Arnold couldn’t keep up with Antonee Robinson’s run into space to find the cross.

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And without Kostas Tsimikas, the only natural first-team replacement, Liverpool were forced to drop Ryan Gravenberch into a back three as they battled to a 2-2 draw with the Cottagers.

Liverpool are, of course, aware of their issue. Robertson turns 31 this season and will be out of contract by the end of the 2025-26 season.

He is undoubtedly a club legend. But, like all players, a long-term replacement is needed eventually.

Liverpool's love-in for Milos Kerkez

Liverpool have been proactive in this regard. As Anfield Watch exclusively reported, the club have made contact with Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez, looking to address the issue as soon as possible.

And whilst no signing will be made without the approval of the coach, the Daily Mail are now reporting that Arne Slot has been an admirer of Kerkez for a while.

The Hungarian spent the 2022-23 season at Dutch side AZ whilst Slot was manager at Feyenoord. Clearly, Kerkez made an impression on the man who would move into the Liverpool job, despite being just 19 at the time.

The additional link is, of course, Richard Hughes signing Kerkez for Bournemouth whilst he was Technical Director there.

And there is also Anfield Watch’s understanding that Pascal Jensen, Slot’s replacement at AZ, is a huge admirer of the left-back. With Jensen and Slot having a close relationship, everything lines up for positive words for Kerkez to be found all around.

As such, it only makes the reports of Liverpool’s push for the Hungarian full-back stronger.

Kerkez himself is enjoying a fine season under Andoni Iraloa at Bournemouth, grabbing a goal and two assists as he powers towards his best season yet.

And having just turned 21 in November, the best is yet to come.

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