Liverpool spent a lot of money during the summer transfer window.
The reigning Premier League champions went on a splurge, signing Alexander Isak for £125million, Florian Wirtz for £100million, Hugo Ekitike for £69million, Milos Kerkez for £40million and Jeremie Frimpong for £30million.
Giorgio Mamardashvili also arrived 12 months after agreeing a move to Anfield while Giovanni Leoni made the switch from Parma in a deal believed to be worth £27million.
Despite being the fourth most expensive arrival in the summer, no Liverpool player has seemingly had their performances put under the microscope more than Kerkez this term. The 22-year-old seemed to fall into the guaranteed hit category.
There was a clear place for him in the Liverpool team with Andrew Robertson showing his age at times last season. The Hungary left-back was joining as a starter.
He had Premier League experience, was one of the most sought-after full-backs in Europe last season and made it into the PFA Team of the Year for his exploits with Bournemouth.
On paper, it made a lot of sense. Liverpool needed a marauding left-back as a long-term successor to Robertson. Kerkez was a marauding left-back. It was a plug-and-play type signing.
But football isn’t played on paper.
Kerkez was not used as a marauding left-back by Arne Slot in the early weeks of the season. Instead, the focus was on him sacrificing his natural game to try and help balance the team.
He’d sit a little deeper, almost as a third centre-back, and involve himself in the build-up much more than anyone had expected. It put more of a focus on his on-ball ability and limited his impact as a full-back.
His strengths masked. His weaknesses were willingly exposed. The transfer went from making a lot of sense to making very little sense at all. His performances were scrutinised.
Jamie Carragher, earlier in the season, made a comparison to a former divisive Liverpool player.
"It's funny watching Kerkez. I always remember speaking about Trent Alexander-Arnold, who Liverpool have missed enormously, of course, and said it's like having Kevin De Bruyne at right-back.
"Sometimes, when you watch Kerkez, it's like having Darwin Nunez at left-back. It's just a bit mad. There's no real thought process, what's he doing with the ball, how's he connecting with other players... it's just head down, run."
It was an unfair criticism but the points made by the Sky Sports pundit weren’t far off the mark. Kerkez was making questionable decisions on an almost weekly basis. But that comes from overthinking everything.
And that happens when you aren’t able to play your natural game.
The Liverpool No6 had imposter syndrome. Why wouldn’t he? He signed for the Premier League champions and was tasked with learning on the job. There was more of a focus on what he could do in possession and it was evident that he wasn’t confident or comfortable in this role.
Over recent weeks, he’s looked like a completely different player. In the win over Brighton in the FA Cup, he really caught the eye. Skipper Virgil van Dijk praised the former Milan man.
"I think it is pretty clear you definitely see an improvement," Van Dijk said.
"He is still so young and is getting used to being a Liverpool player, it is a lot more than kicking a ball on the pitch, especially when the team has been inconsistent it's not easy to play your best games. But with the help of Robbo [Andy Robertson] and the rest of the team and his own development I think he is making big progress.
"What I see is there is a lot to come for him to learn and improve but that's a good thing. He just has to keep going. He has a lot of energy. He is young. When we were young we were always full of energy! He is eager to learn.
"Of course I had chats [earlier in the season] because on the pitch we need each other, whether it is positioning or even [against Brighton] he presses as a full-back and I have to cover.
"It's a collaboration that you obviously have to understand each other and me and Robbo had that for so many years and you still see that in our game. That is something that has to develop over games. Conversations are happening 100% behind the scenes and in games, like with the rest of the team, to try to be the best team and players on the pitch."
The two games at Anfield against Brighton this season really hammer home the difference in Kerkez right now. In the 2-0 win in December, Kerkez had 47 touches, attempted 31 passes, had zero shots and attempted one dribble. The majority of his touches arrived in the defensive third and he wasn’t much of a consideration in the Brighton half.
At Anfield on Saturday, it was a different story.
He had 48 touches but attempted just 19 passes. He had two shots, created one chance, attempted two crosses and two dribbles. He also claimed an assist, setting up the opener for the Reds with a great cross.
He had a similar number of touches in both games but did more in the FA Cup game despite attempting 12 fewer passes. The focus wasn’t on him as a ball-player. He wasn’t an inverted full-back in the game. He was a proper left-back and he looked to be a serious threat. And it didn’t go unnoticed.
"Listen, I have been critical of Kerkez, and I think for the majority of this season he’s been a problem in the back four," Liverpool legend Steve Nicol said on ESPN FC on Saturday.
"He has not affected Liverpool either in an attacking sense or in a defensive sense, and we’ve mentioned it on more than one occasion so I think it’s only right that we say in terms of what he’s producing, he was fantastic today.
"He’s a terrier defensively, he was in good positions, he got close to people, he won the ball back. And then of course going forward, he’s almost scored with a cracking volley, he’s set up Curtis Jones for his goal. I mean, what we saw from Kerkez, 100 per cent is the player we thought Liverpool would get, and today he’s shown us what he’s capable of.”
Nicol is, of course, being a little extreme with his words. Kerkez has been quietly impressing over recent weeks, forming a good understanding with Wirtz during Liverpool’s 13-match unbeaten run.
If he keeps developing as is, he’s going to lock down the left flank for Liverpool for the next decade. It’ll make life a little easier for Sporting Director Richard Hughes.
With the Reds spending £30million on Frimpong last summer and giving Conor Bradley a new deal, the expectation was the right-back position would be sorted for the foreseeable future but injuries to both players could see the Reds dip into the market this summer for another right-sided full-back.
Another summer of spending is on the cards at Anfield, but with Kerkez now right at home in this team, the deal to bring Kerkez to Merseyside is shaping up to the one of the best of the Hughes era.
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