Manchester United are set to battle Chelsea in the summer to sign talented Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez, according to a report by the Mirror via Manchester Evening News.
Despite being just 20 years old, Kerkez has caught the eye playing for Andoni Iraola’s impressive Cherries this season. The Hungarian international has featured 26 times across all competitions, registering a solitary assist. Kerkez has also represented his nation 13 times already.
An attack-minded left-back, Kerkez loves getting forward at every opportunity. Whilst he might not have the assist numbers to show for it, we must remember that he is still very young and that those numbers are bound to improve when he plays with better attackers upfront.
His potential has caught the attention of clubs in the upper echelons of the Premier League as reports claim Manchester United and Chelsea are ready to do-battle over a deal for the £17m-rated defender.
Man Utd’s troubles at left-back have been well-documented this season. Injuries to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia early on in the season saw the club sign Sergio Reguilon on loan from Spurs. Inexplicably though, like most of their decisions in the transfer market, the Red Devils cut the Spaniard’s loan short despite Shaw having just returned from injury and Malacia nowhere close.
Shrewd investment?
Disaster struck very soon for Man Utd, with Shaw picking up yet another issue and likely to miss the rest of the season. Currently, it’s Victor Lindelof who has been doing a job for the Red Devils at left-back despite looking very uncomfortable in that role.
Chelsea’s situation is quite similar too. They were unable to count on the likes of Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella for much of the first half of the season. Both players are back right now though. Thankfully for the Blues, they had someone like Levi Colwill – who was much more natural in that position.
Regardless, it’s clear that United need a left-back ahead of next season. Considering the precarious future of Cucurella at Chelsea, there is a chance that the Blues need to dip in the market too, although Ian Maatsen has been impressing on loan at Borussia Dortmund.
Given the obvious talent that he possesses, the Cherries are likely to demand slightly north of his market value to part ways with Kerkez in the summer. Despite that, his age and the obvious ability that he has shown this season should make this transfer a no-brainer for either club. Kerkez looks here to stay at the highest level and it remains to be seen what the future holds for him ahead of next season.
