Kerkez Signs for Liverpool as Bournemouth Star Makes £40 Million Switch New Chapter for Kerkez After Bournemouth Rise Liverpool have completed the signing of Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth in a deal worth up to £40 million, making him the most expensive full-back in the club’s history. The Hungarian international has signed a five-year deal, keeping […]

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New Chapter for Kerkez After Bournemouth Rise

Liverpool have completed the signing of Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth in a deal worth up to £40 million, making him the most expensive full-back in the club’s history. The Hungarian international has signed a five-year deal, keeping him at Anfield until June 2030.

Kerkez’s rise in English football has been rapid, and his development at Bournemouth has been rewarded with one of the most high-profile moves of the Premier League summer. At just 21, his composure, defensive maturity and attacking intent down the left flank caught the attention of Liverpool’s recruitment department early in the 2024-25 campaign.

This deal becomes the third major acquisition for Liverpool in this transfer window, following the arrivals of Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz. The investment underlines Arne Slot’s intent to keep Liverpool competitive after winning the Premier League in his debut season.

Photo: IMAGO Farewell Message Highlights Bournemouth Impact

In a heartfelt message posted on Instagram, Kerkez paid tribute to his former club and the people who shaped his Premier League beginnings. “I want to thank the whole AFC Bournemouth family for giving me the chance to come and play in the Premier League, the gaffer, everyone at coaching staff, everyone at the club, you guys will always be in my heart, especially the players, made friends for life,” he wrote.

“We fought lot of battles together and gave everything for each other, love you guys. The fans always support us and I am forever thankful for the love. See you soon.”

It was a note of genuine appreciation, reflecting a player who values the opportunity that Bournemouth gave him. Kerkez was one of the bright spots in Bournemouth’s campaign, showing a blend of physicality and technical ability that made him stand out in matches against top-six opposition.

Liverpool Move Signals Ambition

For Liverpool, this is more than just depth in defence. Kerkez arrives to compete. With Andrew Robertson’s injury record becoming more concerning in recent years, and Kostas Tsimikas potentially moving on, Slot needed a reliable and dynamic left-sided option. Kerkez fits the mould.

The £40 million fee includes potential add-ons, but the scale of the investment reveals Liverpool’s belief in the player’s long-term future. His attacking output, composure in possession and recovery pace offer a modern full-back profile that suits Slot’s system.

Photo IMAGO

FIFA solidarity mechanisms will ensure that Hungarian clubs involved in Kerkez’s youth development receive a portion of the transfer fee, recognising the role they played in shaping the player who now joins one of Europe’s elite clubs.

Pre-Season Preparation Begins

Kerkez will report for Liverpool’s pre-season on July 8, joining up with a squad aiming to build on last season’s success. Their opening friendly comes just six days later against Preston North End, a fixture likely to offer the defender his first chance to pull on the red shirt.

At 21, the pressure and spotlight will increase, but Liverpool will hope that the grounding he received at Bournemouth will ease his transition. Slot’s emphasis on tactical discipline and fluidity in wide areas should accelerate his integration.

Kerkez’s journey is only just beginning at Anfield, but his words and work at Bournemouth will not be forgotten.

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Speculation linking Luis Diaz with a Liverpool exit is seemingly never far away, despite the Colombian currently coming off the back of his best season with the club.

Diaz tallied 17 goals and eight assists in all competitions, and as well as featuring in his usual left-wing role, he also proved a popular choice as a striker with Arne Slot. Still, though, talk of a move away remains, with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, as well as clubs in Saudi Arabia, said to be interested in Diaz.

A couple of years ago, Diaz's father said that the former Porto star "dreamed" of a move to Barcelona, and the Catalan club has made no secret of its admiration for him. Last month, Barca sporting director Deco name-checked Diaz as he addressed Barcelona's desire to sign a new winger during the summer transfer window.

"We like Luis Diaz, we like Rashford... and we like other wingers too," Deco said. "We can't talk about players under contract with other clubs."

Barcelona manager Flick addressed Deco's comments a few days later and gave a similarly deliberate response, insisting that he could not talk about players from other clubs... while naming players from other clubs who he wants to sign.

“This is what we have talked about with the club," Flick said. "In the last matches maybe we did not have a lot of options in that position [on the left wing]… so we have to bring more options to the team and more quality. This is the job from Deco, is clear, and I will support him.

“I don’t want to speak about players which are not in my team, but of course Luis Diaz and Marcus Rashford are fantastic players. I like them and we’ll see what happens.”

Manchester United outcast Rashford has decided that he wants to move abroad this summer, after Aston Villa confirmed his exit from the club that he spent the second half of last season on loan at.

Rashford's loan spell at Aston Villa has ended (Image: Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

The England forward clearly has no future at United, and his dream would be to join Barcelona. Were he to do so, that would rule Diaz out of a move to Barcelona, and leave him in an interesting position regarding his future.

Despite being a key player in Slot's squad, Diaz's salary is significantly lower than a lot of his teammates, including the likes of Darwin Nunez, Federico Chiesa, and Diogo Jota.

Diaz is still on the same terms he signed when he joined Liverpool in 2022, and his contract expires in 2027. Speaking while away with Colombia on international duty in June, Diaz said he would be happy to see out his contract on Merseyside: "I'm very, very happy in Liverpool. From day one, they've made me feel really welcome.

"Right now we're in contact with them because we're speaking with [other] clubs. It's normal, the market is open, and we're trying to sort out what's best for us.

"I am just waiting to see what happens. If Liverpool doesn't make a good offer, I still have two years left with them, I would be happy and content to stay there. And that's it, everything depends on them obviously, it's up to me to decide what's best for us and the future."

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Cody Gakpo‘s numbers continue to rise at Liverpool, but there is undeniably an area of his game that he can improve upon to reach a world-class level.

Gakpo remains somewhat of an enigma for Liverpool. At his best he is devastating, quick, direct, strong and has a hammer of a right foot.

When defenders see the Dutchman cutting in off the left wing, they know they are in trouble. At 6’3″, he is a threat in the air too.

He works hard, is happy to play out of position and is an excellent character within the dressing room. For his country, he is undoubtedly the star of Ronald Koeman’s Oranje, with 15 goals in 39 appearances since his debut in 2021.

However, at 26 year old and entering his peak years, his Liverpool career is arguably at a crossroads.

CODY GAKPO, SEASON 2024/25

Started: 32 (All competitions)
On as a substitute: 17
Unused sub: 1
Goals: 18
Assists: 6

Overall Season Rating: 8

Cody Gakpo’s positional conundrum

When he was signed from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023 for a £37 million initial fee, it was rightly seen as an incredible piece of business.

He had emerged as one of the standout young attackers in Europe and Liverpool did brilliantly to get in ahead of other interested rivals. A player to deliver in the short and, more pertinently, the long term.

Yet, two and a half years later, can we honestly say that Gakpo makes Arne Slot’s first-choice eleven?

As it stands, Luis Díaz remains the first choice off the left-wing. This, and the fact that serious investment is happening in other areas, are perhaps behind rumours that Bayern Munich are interested in testing Liverpool’s resolve around a saleable asset.

Before the arrival of Slot, predecessor Jurgen Klopp potentially got it wrong with Gakpo, trying to shoehorn him into the side as a centre-forward and only playing him in his natural home on the left in 22 percent of his 53 appearances under the German.

The 2024/25 season encapsulated the Gakpo conundrum.

In and out the starting XI

He undoubtedly had an important role to play in Liverpool’s famous 20th league title. With 18 goals and seven assists across 49 appearances, Gakpo outperformed his other full season at the club.

It shouldn’t be surprising that he did so while making almost all of his appearances off the left. Yet at the same time, he started on the bench 18 times across all competitions, a third of all games.

He only started two of Liverpool’s first nine league games, only two in total in the Champions League and then, despite being a regular in the League Cup, was subsequently dropped for the final.

And the number of times he completed 90 minutes? A mere eight matches. Will Gakpo continue to be happy with what is essentially the role of a very impressive squad player?

As always, there is a flip side to the narrative. You can argue that top clubs competing for multiple titles in stupidly long seasons now need great options and depth in every position.

You can look at the numbers, with Gakpo Liverpool’s third top-scorer in the league and joint-first in the Champions League, or you can correctly point out that he eventually earned the trust of his countryman Slot, starting in 16 out of 18 league matches from the start of October to the middle of February.

Slot works with a very small group of core regulars – Gakpo was one of them. Furthermore, he played an integral role during the crucial, busy Christmas period in which Liverpool truly accelerated away from the chasing pack.

He started the matches against Newcastle, Man City, Tottenham, Man United and Nottingham Forest. From the start of December to the end of January, he bagged seven of his 10 League goals.

Tactically, Gakpo proved himself important for Liverpool. Although it is clear he likes to cut inside, he offers genuine width on the left, helping to stretch defences with his pace and directness.

It is not fair to directly compare him with Diaz because they are such different modern wide-forwards; one tricks and tight spaces, the other uses deliberate movements and thrusting runs.

It must be a right-back’s nightmare having to potentially deal with both of them, excellent in their own ways, in one match.

Build-up play is an area for improvement

We also saw how Gakpo was vital for solving Slot’s striker issue, not by plonking him in an unnatural position upfront, but by enabling Slot to use the pace and finishing of Diaz down the middle while knowing that he had an excellent alternative out wide.

Akin to most top-level forwards, Gakpo is superb at getting in the box at the right time for pull-backs or decisive square passes, and he is a real threat in the air for crosses from the right.

The dinked right-footed cross to the back post that he can execute while moving at speed is technically impressive and offensively valuable in equal measure, and it is something he does regularly with the Netherlands to find the charging Denzel Dumfries.

It is fair to question whether Gakpo does need to add more strings to his bow if he really is to become indispensable.

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It is great having a core quality, a go-to move, but perhaps the next step for Gakpo is to show that he can play more in between the lines, that he can sometimes shift to the right during a match to discombobulate defenders and, whisper it quietly, that he can actually sometimes use that visible strength down the middle of the pitch.

Indeed, the world’s best forwards today are able to offer threats from multiple areas.

Looking at the FBRef data from the past year comparing Gakpo to positional peers, he is also in the bottom 20 percentile for attempted and progressive passes, suggesting his contribution in build-up play needs improving.

That perhaps isn’t a huge issue for a player whose value is measured in goals, but what is surprising is that he is in the bottom half for progressive carries and successful take-ons. This hints at a player who isn’t beating his man enough, which can never be a positive for a winger.

Cody Gakpo’s Liverpool role next season

After dismissing the links with Bayern, it is highly likely Gakpo will still be a Liverpool player come the start of next season – and that is something fans should be happy about.

If the club do purchase Milos Kerkez, you can imagine it really helping Gakpo, whose game is well suited to having a left-back behind him with a big engine making constant overlapping runs, something that Andy Robertson just isn’t able to do at the same intensity or with the same regularity as before.

Whether Slot moves for a new centre-forward or not is intriguing as it could reduce Diaz’s game time down the middle and turn it into a season-long head-to-head with Gakpo for that left-forward role.

Gakpo is a high quality forward who could well become an elite one.

In 326 professional appearances, he has 101 goals and 73 assists. Yet, as it stands, he still isn’t talked up as one of Europe’s best attackers.

You feel that next season is the biggest of his career. The one where he needs to take the next step to prove to Slot that he is deserving of that regular starting place and that he can fulfil the obvious potential to be one of the world’s best.

Best moment: A brilliant curler to equalise at home to Leicester, with the Reds struggling to break down their opponents.

Worst moment: An awful cameo against Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield in extra-time when he didn’t look remotely fit.

Role next season: An important attacking option who needs to prove himself worthy of a definite place in the starting XI.

* Read all our player-by-player season reviews here

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Latest Liverpool transfer news and gossip as Gary Lineker and Micah Richards have given their verdicts on Harvey Elliott's future

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Alexis Mac Allister opened up about an exchange he had with Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele during Liverpool's Champions League clash with the competition's eventual winner.

The Reds were the favorites to become European champions when they were drawn to face PSG in the last 16, but a high-quality two-legged affair was settled by a penalty shootout, with the French side coming out on top.

The first leg of the tie took place in the French capital, when Alisson produced arguably the best performance of his career to set Liverpool up for a smash-and-grab 1-0 win.

Early on in that game, Mac Allister was nutmegged by Dembele, as the Argentina international recalled on an episode of La Casa del Kun (The House of Kun), which is a chat show that Sergio 'Kun' Aguero stars in.

"When we played away, five or ten minutes into the game, the guy (Dembele) was flying," Mac Allister said. "The ball was divided and I went with my foot open and he nutmegged me.

"He left me and immediately the game stopped. He came to me and said: 'Bro, don't come so fast next time.' That's what he told me. And I told him, 'Don't worry, I'll put it on your knee next time.' The thing is, I never managed to catch him!"

Asked whether he felt any desire to escalate the situation with Dembele as a result of the Frenchman's cheeky comment, Mac Allister responded: "No, it's not necessary. At the time I wanted to kill him, but those things are good, it's not worth making so much of a fuss."

Dembele and PSG ended up winning the Champions League (Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Dembele and PSG went on to win the Champions League, eliminating Aston Villa and Arsenal in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, before trouncing Inter Milan 5-0 in the final.

Luis Enrique's side gained plenty of plaudits on the way to lifting the trophy, and Mac Allister was among the team's admirers, describing PSG as "the best team in the world."

"They're flying," Mac Allister said. "They have everything: they're very disciplined, they play well with the ball, they all run. For me, they're the best."

Regarding the team's best player, Mac Allister responded: "They're all good: number 7, who played for Napoli (Khvicha Kvaratskhelia), is a star."

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Liverpool’s conditions for the potential sale of Harvey Elliott have been revealed, while Darwin Nunez‘s favoured exit path is currently being blocked.

Today’s Main LFC Headline

Fresh from winning player of the tournament at the European U21 Championships, transfer talk around Elliott has stepped up.

We already knew that Liverpool wanted over £40 million to consider selling the 22-year-old, but now the Athletic has reported that the Reds would also like a buy-back clause included if Elliott were to move on.

David Ornstein wrote that Liverpool want “a fee in excess of £40m plus a buy-back option, or above £50m without one.”

In terms of interested parties, West Ham, RB Leipzig and Brighton are all believed to be interested in signing Elliott.

For now, though, the youngster will head off on holiday before he returns to Liverpool training on July 20, just in time to head out to Hong Kong and Japan for the pre-season tour.

Read more here

Today’s Liverpool FC News

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• Liverpool are continuing to negotiate with Napoli over the sale of Nunez. The Reds are seeking “probably in excess of” £60m, reported Fabrizio Romano – this one could drag late into the window

• The same reporter has also written that Andy Robertson has still “not decided what he wants to do” – a move to Atletico now looks unlikely with the Spaniards also pursuing fellow left-back Matteo Ruggeri

• Goalkeeper Freddie Woodman was a surprise signing last week, but did you know Liverpool have been following him for more than nine years? It’s all explained here

More from This Is Anfield

There have already been rumours of Real Madrid‘s interest in Ibrahima Konate, and Liverpool must act now to ensure they don’t have another Trent Alexander-Arnold scenario on their hands, Pete Bolster writes:

“With players like Konate, the message has to be uncomplicated, to commit to the project or create the space for someone who will.

“Decisive action, whether that means an early sale or a robust new contract, re-establishes control and ensures the terms are Liverpool’s, not Madrid’s.

“Being proactive here is not an act of aggression, it is modern football governance. It signals to every dressing room and every agent that Liverpool’s future will not be dictated by external agendas.”

READ: Liverpool must act like the big club they are if Real Madrid want Ibrahima Konate

Elsewhere in the football world today

• Aston Villa want to terminate Philippe Coutinho‘s contract a year early this summer (Birmingham Mail) – had anyone else forgotten he was still their player?

• Arsenal have completed a £5m deal to sign Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga – he cost Chelsea over £70m in 2018!

• Another goalkeeper changing clubs is ex-Liverpool man Danny Ward – he has completed a move to hometown club Wrexham on a Bosman

Liverpool FC: On this day

With July 1 being the date players are allowed to sign for new clubs upon the expiry of most contracts, there have been several notable signings on this day in Liverpool history.

In recent times, Mo Salah, Konate, James Milner, Fabinho and Adam Lallana have all officially completed their transfers on July 1.

There have also been two managerial appointments on this day, Joe Fagan and Roy Hodgson. The former won a treble in his first season (1983/84), while Hodgson lasted just 31 games in the Anfield dugout.

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The post Crystal Palace Signing Could Pave Way for Guehi Exit appeared first on anfieldindex.com.

Harvey Elliott's future remains the subject of speculation after the Liverpool midfielder shone for England Under-21s at the European Championships

Harvey Elliott's future remains the subject of speculation after the Liverpool midfielder shone for England Under-21s at the European Championships

Liverpool have forked over £200million on new recruits so far this summer

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The post Liverpool Fans Can Still Expect More ‘Significant Incomings’ This Summer – Journalist appeared first on anfieldindex.com.

Florian Wirtz joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen last month

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Former Liverpool goalkeeper Danny Ward has rejoined Wrexham after leaving Leicester City

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Liverpool Make Major Move for Guehi: Personal Terms Agreed Guehi Deal Edges Closer for Liverpool Liverpool’s summer recruitment drive has taken another big step forward with DaveOCKOP.com revealing that personal terms have been agreed between the Reds and Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi. It’s another assertive move in what’s shaping up to be a transformative […]

The post Report: Liverpool “agree personal terms” with Marc Guehi appeared first on anfieldindex.com.