Manchester United and Liverpool are reportedly showing the strongest interest in signing AFC Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez, as per Caught Offside.
After joining the Cherries last year, the 21-year-old has established himself as a key player in Andoni Iraola’s starting eleven. He helped his side finish mid-table in the Premier League last term and has enjoyed a bright start to this season.
In 19 league appearances, he has made three goal contributions and kept four clean-sheets. The Hungarian helped his side keep clean-sheets in the victory over Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and United.
Moreover, the youngster provided two assists in the 2-1 victory against Manchester City. Now, Bournemouth are just two points behind fifth-place Newcastle United.
So, it is not a surprise to see that Kerkez has been attracting a lot of attention from several big English clubs ahead of the January window. Caught Offside claim that Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have registered their interest in him, but Liverpool and Man Utd have been showing the ‘strongest interest’ in securing his service.
Battle
The Reds want to bolster the left side of the defence as Andy Robertson is set to turn 32 next year and hasn’t been able to showcase his best this term.
Bournemouth have no intention of letting their star man leave just yet with the defender still having more than three and a half years left in his current contract. But, if they are forced to cash-in then they want around £50m.
The report say Kerkez isn’t the only option on Liverpool and Man Utd’s wish-list to bolster the backline as Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies, Fulham’s Antonee Robinson and Girona’s Miguel Gutierrez are also on their radar.
Man Utd have been struggling with the left-wing-back position due to the injury absence of Luke Shaw, while Tyrell Malacia hasn’t been at his best in recent times after returning from a lengthy injury layoff.
Therefore, signing a new LWB is an absolute must for Ruben Amorim’s side. However, it is going to be interesting to see whether the record Premier League champions or the Merseyside club eventually sign Kerkez to strengthen the defensive department in January or at the end of this season.
