Liverpool’s decision to spend £40million on a full-back this summer went a little under the radar. Why wouldn’t it though? After all, the Reds broke their transfer record twice, signing Florian Wirtz for £100million and Alexander Isak for £125million in what was a British transfer record deal. The Premier League champions also spent £69million on Hugo Ekitike, £30million on Jeremie Frimpong and £26million on 19-year-old Giovanni Leoni.
But the deal to bring Milos Kerkez to Anfield was a significant one.
It was a huge outlay for a young left-back.
Yes, he’d been named in the PFA Team of the Year for his exploits while at Bournemouth last season but at 21, he was still developing. He’d yet to play a match in the Champions League and turning out for the Cherries was completely different to starting for the champions of England. Prior to this signing, Liverpool’s most expensive full-back signing was Kostas Tsimikas who joined for £12million.
Generally speaking, it wasn’t viewed as a high return position. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson posted world class returns for the Reds but that was down to the system, a system no longer necessarily utilised at Anfield.
How was Kerkez ever going to be able to justify the price tag? There would’ve been a few ways. If he made the left-back berth his own for the next decade, it’d be money well spent. If he managed to get close to the levels of his predecessor in terms of output, he’d be viewed as a success. If he played a part in helping Wirtz, a player many felt would be used on the left side of the attack, deliver in the Premier League, the £40million would’ve been viewed as a bargain.
At the start of the season, however, none of the above seemed at all possible and performances had people questioning whether or not he had a long-term role at Anfield. He was deployed at left-back but was, at times, a left-sided centre-back. His on-ball actions had spiked but his creative numbers had dropped. He was a cog in a system. Kerkez had no understanding on the left flank with Cody Gakpo.
The young full-back wasn’t viewed as a waste of money but the decision to sign him looked to be an odd one when his profile clashed with how he was being utilised by Slot.
Over the last few weeks, the narrative has shifted entirely. With Gakpo out injured, Wirtz has been used on the left side of the attack in a 4-2-3-1. The Liverpool No7 is playing his best football in red, with an assist against Spurs and a goal against Wolves. It’s no coincidence that Kerkez is finally looking like a £40million full-back.
Speaking after the win over Spurs, Kerkez said: “The last few weeks have been better because we’ve had time to gel and get to know each other. At the moment, there’s a good connection between me and Flo [Wirtz]. We’re playing good and I hope it keeps going. I like it because I have more freedom with Flo. We are moving, passing and playing a lot of one-twos.
“I felt like I was in the opposition box a lot more and crossing. Defending is my first job so it’s getting better and I’m happy about it.”
You can see in the passing network graphic above, there’s more of a relationship on the left now. Wirtz and Kerkez are combining.
The Liverpool No6 is much more involved too. He’s having more touches on a per 90 basis and attempting more passes when he’s paired with Wirtz. The Hungary international is also attempting more take-ons and more crosses. In a nutshell, he’s looking like his old self.
In the build-up to Wirtz’s first goal for Liverpool in the 2-1 win over Wolves, Kerkez played a part without really touching the ball. His driving run down the left helped create space for Hugo Ekitike who was then able to thread a pass into the path of the German international.
As you can see from his heat map, the 22-year-old is now more involved in the opposition’s half. Against Wolves, he had a pass success rate of 95% and created one chance. He also completed two of his three dribbles and put in a shift defensively. If this sort of performance becomes the norm and he keeps on working well with Wirtz, the transfer fee will quickly be forgotten about.
