Milos Kerkez backed for success at Liverpool thanks to one top attribute

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Liverpool have not yet seen the very best of Milos Kerkez since his summer move from Bournemouth.

The Hungarian had been arguably the Premier League’s number one left-back in 2024/25, and was eventually named in the PFA Team of the Year.

This led to a £40m move to Liverpool, with fans excited to see what looked like a natural successor to Andy Robertson.

Since then, Kerkez has underwhelmed with the Reds. The 21-year-old has quickly become Arne Slot’s first choice on the left of the defence, but is yet to show his very best.

There have been some bright spots. Kerkez was good against Everton recently and also performed well when Arsenal came to Anfield.

However, it is fair to say that Liverpool fans expected more from their new left-back. According to former Bournemouth full-back Charlie Daniels, though, Kerkez‘s pace and tenacity will ensure he turns things around with the Reds.

Milos Kerkez is a speed demon

There are plenty of mitigating factors surrounding Kerkez’s slow start to life with Liverpool, and he has hardly been alone in his below-par displays this season.

For Daniels, there appear to be few doubts that the Hungary international can quickly turn things around.

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The Bournemouth legend says Kerkez’s speed is what really separates him from other full-backs, and claims the similarities with Robertson have not simply gone away.

“When he bursts forward, he does it with so much speed, which separates him from a lot of other full-backs,” Daniels tells FourFourTwo. “No winger is going to track him because he’s too quick for them. Also, they don’t really want to track him – wingers don’t want to run back.”

“It was not a surprise when Liverpool came in for him,” adds the former Cherry. “He played with such freedom in a good Bournemouth side and he was probably the nearest person to Andy Robertson that they could have signed.

“With his quality, his tenacity, his energy, his enthusiasm and his willingness to work for the team, Kerkez is a really good fit for the current Liverpool side.”

Arne Slot not utilising Kerkez speed

While it is not up for debate that Kerkez is an incredibly quick player, we have not seen huge evidence of this at Liverpool so far.

This is not necessarily the player’s fault, though, as he feels to have been instructed to play a more limited role on the left.

Liverpool seemingly bought Kerkez to raid up and down the wing in a manner Robertson used to in his younger years. But up until now he has often played with more caution in his game.

This appears to be more by design rather than a decision from the player himself, and has led to Kerkez looking a little unsure of what he should be doing at times.

With Jeremie Frimpong equally as fast, if not faster, on the other side, Arne Slot needs to find a way to make this sheer speed a proper weapon for Liverpool to utilise. Improvements must be made.