Milos Kerkez has responded in only way he can after brutal Darwin Nunez comment

Liverpool left-back Milos Kerkez has been in excellent form lately, showing his true colors after a slow-ish start to life at Anfield following a $54 million (£40 million) transfer

Milos Kerkez during the Premier League game between Liverpool and Man City.(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Given that he has not long turned 22, it should be no surprise that Milos Kerkez has taken some time to adjust to playing for Liverpool.

And after a $54 million (£40 million) transfer from Bournemouth, it is starting to become clear now why Arne Slot was so keen to sign him. Named in the Premier League Team of the Season last term, Kerkez's quality was never in doubt, but the step up to a club of such size is substantial. Now, however, he looks to be in a nice groove.

"He's found it tough," Jamie Carragher said on Kerkez's performances at the turn of the year. "It's been a struggle for him. He's a young man, but he will have to improve in the second half of the season, there's no doubt about that."

Carragher was far from the only person to have reservations about Kerkez's suitability to the team. Calls for Andy Robertson to remain as the number one, though, forget that he struggled in periods when Liverpool won the title.

"It's funny watching Kerkez," Carragher continued. "I always remember speaking about Trent Alexander-Arnold, who Liverpool have missed enormously, of course, and said it's like having Kevin De Bruyne at right-back.

"Sometimes, when you watch Kerkez, it's like having Darwin Nunez at left-back. It's just a bit mad. There's no real thought process, what's he doing with the ball, how's he connecting with other players... it's just head down, run."

Virgil van Dijk and Liverpool teammate Milos Kerkez.(Image: Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

Since those comments, though, Kerkez has largely been excellent. He has been superb in matches against the likes of Arsenal, Marseille, Newcastle and Brighton, really finding his feet.

Slot was right to trust him and keep him in the team, and his relationship with those around him is improving. Even Cody Gakpo looked to pass to him more often against Brighton, where the pair linked up pretty well.

"I think it is pretty clear you definitely see an improvement," Virgil van Dijk told reporters on Saturday.

"He is still so young and is getting used to being a Liverpool player, it is a lot more than kicking a ball on the pitch, especially when the team has been inconsistent it's not easy to play your best games.

"But with the help of Robbo [Robertson] and the rest of the team and his own development, I think he is making big progress.

"What I see is there is a lot to come for him to learn and improve but that's a good thing. He just has to keep going. He has a lot of energy. He is young. He is eager to learn."

As was the case with Florian Wirtz, who is another to have really kicked on in the last couple of months, patience was needed with Kerkez.

Having shown some real glimpses of what he can do moving forward, though, the last few weeks have seen the Hungary international hit back at the critics in the best way possible: by letting his football do the talking.