Liverpool started their new campaign with five straight wins in the Premier League before they went on a four-game losing spree across competitions.
However, they have arrested the dip in form with a resounding 5-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in their recent Champions League fixture.
Heading to the Brentford game in the Premier League, Arne Slot touched upon a lot of topics including the performances of the new signings at Liverpool.
One such player who has taken time to adapt to life at Anfield has to be Milos Kerkez. The 21-year-old Hungarian was one of the best left-backs in the Premier League last season for Bournemouth and therefore he joined Liverpool this summer for a fee in the region of £40m ($53.2m).
However, since his move to Merseyside, he has been a shadow of himself and even Slot has been responsible for his underwhelming performances as he hasn’t allowed Kerkez with enough freedom to go on overlapping runs on the left flank.
Kerkez is someone who is known for his energetic overlapping runs on the left flank as he finished last season with five assists and two goals whilst featuring in all of the 38 league games for the Cherries.
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Slot has chained the youngster with defensive responsibilities, as he is often seen as playing the third defender whilst limiting his attacking output.
What did Arne Slot say about Liverpool’s new signing Kerkez?
Despite Kerkez’s fluctuating form, Slot has persisted with him as he has started all of the eight league games over the more experienced Andrew Robertson.
The Dutchman believes that the Hungarian has been decent with his defensive duties, warranting regular starts on the left flank.
We are Liverpool!🔴+3 pic.twitter.com/2XdVtMHOTp
— Milos Kerkez (@kerkez_official) August 31, 2025
“I don’t think that’s a place for me to say this here, because then I have to say something about Robbo as well. The reason why we brought him in, that I can tell you, is that he is bringing a lot of energy to the game, keeps going up and down,” Slot told reporters when asked about Kerkez.
“And he’s very well in defending the one-v-one situations against his wingers as well. So, defensively solid and a lot of energy making the overlaps.”
Kerkez has been subject to a lot of criticism for his reckless challenges and lack of chemistry with Cody Gakpo, who generally features on the left wing for the Reds.
Slot feels with more games, the synergy will develop between the two players and that will reflect on the pitch.
“For me, he’s been a bit unlucky that Cody has used mainly his biggest strengths of coming inside and hitting the target, but we’ve shown Cody as well that there were a few moments that maybe playing the ball towards Milos would have been a better option.
“So, again, an example of two players playing together that need to find their connection even better than they already do. That’s why we brought him in, and I think that’s a better answer to your question than starting to compare him with Robbo.”
With as many as 12 games under his belt this season across competitions, we expect Kerkez to pick up his performances or else Slot will be forced to return to his trusted soldier in Robertson.
