Only one Liverpool player can fix Milos Kerkez’s poor form and it is not Virgil van Dijk

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Cody Gakpo is the only player who can help fix Milos Kerkez’s form for Liverpool.

Since arriving at Anfield, the Hungarian has been far from his best, with signs of the player he was for Bournemouth last season being non-existent.

In fact, he’s arguably been one of Liverpool’s worst defenders this season, with most fans calling for Andy Robertson to get back into Arne Slot’s starting XI.

However, a lot of this is likely due to Liverpool’s full-backs being used in a completely different way in comparison to Bournemouth.

Last term, Kerkez was in the PFA’s team of the season for his performances, but now, it feels like he’s half the player.

However, Slot has now said that Kerkez was brought in for his energy and his ability to bomb up and down the wing, but since Gakpo is best when cutting inside, it’s not allowed his ability to shine.

Hence why, Gakpo is the only player who can help turn things around for the 21-year-old.

Cody Gakpo needs to try and make use of Milos Kerkez more for Liverpool

Looking at Kerkez’s performances this season, it’s not hard to see why people have frowned upon Liverpool signing him.

He’s often been hooked at halftime due to the rash challenges he’s made, with Slot often not able to trust him not to get red-carded after being booked.

This is why Robertson has been used more often this term, but in reality, Gakpo should be trying his best to include his full back in the game, no matter what.

That is, especially when he’s constantly cutting in but not managing to put the ball in the back of the net.

If he chose to pass the ball onto Kerkez, the Dutchman could drop back to try and get a better goal-scoring opportunity or even take some pressure away from the Hungarian to allow him to ping a ball into the box.

This would also help with Liverpool’s poor shooting, as it would give them more than one way of scoring, especially since Mohamed Salah hasn’t been in good form this term.

Milos Kerkez will come good for Liverpool at some point

Liverpool clearly spent £45 million on Kerkez for a reason this summer.

The fact that players such as Rayan Ait-Nouri were overlooked by Liverpool shows how much faith Slot has in the 21-year-old.

And, to be honest, the Dutchman didn’t likely anticipate having to change his system so soon into the season, especially after the Reds only just won the Premier League last term.

All these things need to be taken into account when judging the Reds’ new players and, if by the end of the season there are still no signs of improvement, that’s when players can be dubbed flops.

It’s unclear whether Kerkez will start against Brentford on Saturday, but if he does, Slot’s new 4-4-2 system could work in his favour, especially if they’re in need of a creative spark.