2 months ago
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Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer has revealed his disappointment at Milos Kerkez’s performance level this season and claimed the left-back appears to be over-thinking following his summer move from Bournemouth.
The Hungarian has struggled to adapt since his £40 million ($53M) transfer and his performances have often underwhelmed. Kerkez’s one-on-one defending has been poor, while he has contributed little offensively, and has looked awkward in Liverpool’s build-up play.
The defender was withdrawn after just 38 minutes in September’s win over Burnley, with Arne Slot fearing he was on the verge of receiving a second yellow card. Kerkez also looked susceptible in the recent defeats against Crystal Palace and Chelsea.
Andy Robertson replaced Kerkez in the line-up for the midweek Champions League win over Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool was much more effective with the Scotland captain in the side.
Speaking in a recent interview, McAteer said he wants Kerkez to play with the same intensity and confidence that he routinely showed at Bournemouth last season, a campaign which was rewarded with a spot in the PFA Team of the Season.
“The player that has probably disappointed me is probably Kerkez,” the former Republic of Ireland international told LiverpoolWorld.
“I thought he had a phenomenal season at Bournemouth. Great energy, great delivery, loved his enthusiasm. But I just feel he's a little bit lost at the minute.
“At Bournemouth, he just looked like he loved playing football. There was not a care in the world, and he just played football and that was, that was the beauty of his performances last season. It was just great.
“This season, it looks like he's thinking about everything. Should I be here? Should I be there? Should I make this run? Do I go inside? Who do I pass it to? Should I go back? He's like painting by numbers at the minute.”
Despite that, Slot has started Kerkez in all eight Premier League matches so far this season. The Liverpool head coach was asked on Friday what has given the 21-year-old “the edge” over Robertson, a question he deflected.
"I don’t think this is the place for me to say this because then I have to say something about Robbo as well," said Slot.
“The reason why we brought him in is that he brings a lot of energy to the game, he keeps going up and down and is very good at defending the one-v-one situations against his winger.
“Defensively solid and a lot of energy making the overlaps. For me, he has been a bit unlucky that Cody [Gakpo] hasn't used [him].
“Mainly his biggest strength is coming inside and hitting the target but we have shown Cody a few moments where playing the ball to Milos would have been the better option.
“Again, an example of two players who maybe need to find a connection better than they already do. That's why we brought him in.”
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