Arne Slot made several changes to his Liverpool team as the Reds faced Leeds United on Saturday evening.
One of those to come into the side was Milos Kerkez, who stepped in for Andy Robertson at left-back.
It has been a stop-start beginning to life at Anfield for the Hungarian, with his poor performances singled out a number of times already.
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However, Kerkez has begun to improve in recent weeks, beginning to look like the player Liverpool paid £40m to sign last summer.
As that continued at Elland Road on Saturday, even Gary Neville felt compelled to hand the 21-year-old some much-deserved praise.
Milos Kerkez is finding his feet at Liverpool
Despite the big money paid for him, it was always likely to take Kerkez a while to settle in at Liverpool.
Replacing a stalwart like Robertson was never going to be easy, and the step up from Bournemouth to the Reds cannot be underestimated.
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Nevertheless, more had been expected from Kerkez. Thankfully, he is now starting to show what he can do.
“It’s been a decent half-hour for Kerkez,” Neville said while commentating for Sky Sports at Elland Road. “It’s been challenging for him [at Liverpool], but he’s been pretty good.”
“I’ve not seen every Liverpool game but when I have he’s been struggling,” Neville added during the second-half. “But today has been one of his better games. He’s been really consistent out there.”
Biting into tackles and keeping the door shut at the back, Kerkez looked every bit a Liverpool left-back in West Yorkshire. It’s just a shame Cody Gakpo refuses to pass to him.
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Kerkez deserves more help at left wing
Although Kerkez was impressive against Leeds on Saturday, his impact was limited by the fact Gakpo would not use him effectively in the attacking third.
Gakpo has been criticised for his performances recently, and the Dutchman continued to pose more questions than answers at Elland Road.
As ever, he saw plenty of the ball and got himself into some threatening positions, but time after time he looked out of kilter with his Liverpool teammates.
Kerkez felt the brunt of that more than any other, with the Hungary international continuously ignored by Gakpo whether he was overlapping or underlapping.
Arne Slot must find a different answer to Gakpo moving forward, and although Kerkez is starting to get better and better, he may not truly hit top form until that happens.
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