Liverpool have £45million CHEAT CODE ready to free up Florian Wirtz | OneFootball

Milos Kerkez might not just be an upgrade on Andrew Robertson for Liverpool. He could well be key to ensuring Florian Wirtz is able to be at his brilliant best for the Premier League champions.

Yeah, he could be a bit of a cheat code for the Reds.

The fee for Kerkez might be a little steep (if the £45million price tag is accurate) but we have to just trust that Liverpool, with the smartest nerds in the game, feel he can justify the fee, whatever it ends up being. We have to trust that the Reds believe the system that Slot has in mind won't expose the one-time Milan man.

While there’s a lot to like about the 21-year-old, the best thing about him, at least in my opinion, is that his end goal is to get the ball into the penalty area. It sounds simple. It sounds basic. But it is invaluable.

His creative numbers aren't great but there's context needed.

He's playing for Bournemouth. He ranks seventh for Bournemouth when looking at xA with 2.4. The wide forwards for the Cherries lead the way for Andoni Iraola's side. Kerkez's xA per 90 is 0.11. Again, fairly low. This term, Frimpong has an xA90 of 0.18, the same as Conor Bradley in the Premier League. Andrew Robertson, having the worst season of his career creatively, has an xA average of 0.16. Kostas Tsimikas, in his limited minutes for the Reds, has an xA90 average of 0.25 while Trent Alexander-Arnold is coming in at 0.27.

Kerkez's 2.19 shot-creating actions on a per 90 basis this term isn't great either. Again, though, there's context. The Cherries average 48% possession in the English top-flight. They rank fifth for xG, ninth for big chances and eighth for touches in the boxes. Iraola's men aren't the most attacking team in the league and tend to play on the break a lot of the time.

That doesn't necessarily lend itself to attacking full-backs. Yet Kerkez ranks well for crosses into the box (third), showing that when he does have the ball, he is aggressive, direct and progressive. In a more possession-based team, how useful might the former AC Milan be?

There are things I think are transferable and could be of use to Liverpool.

© Anfield Watch

The first example is against Liverpool. He picks the ball up in space on the left, drives forward and then clips a ball over the top for the attacker to run onto.

Against Arsenal, when the Reds went with a different build-up, Robertson was free a lot of the time down the left and his ball-carrying was useful in that game. The pass from Kerkez wasn't half bad either.

© Anfield Watch

This is Kerkez in a nutshell though. This is why we want him, I think. He picks the ball up and takes it upon himself to beat Phil Foden while driving to the touchline. He shows great composure and strength to beat the City man before pulling the ball back into a dangerous area. If you stretch the play by attacking the outside, as he did, you create space in central areas while disrupting the defensive shape.

Liverpool need more of these players. They aren't game breakers, or even line breakers, but they're final third disruptors. They need ball carriers to alleviate the pressure on some of their attackers.

Kerkez does that.

© Anfield Watch

Why do I like this one so much?

Because in the loss to Fulham, Robertson was in a similar situation to put in a cross. However, he didn't play it in first time. He held onto it, took a touch and allowed the hosts to set themselves up by killing the initial threat. Kerkez, when there's an opportunity to, will look to make first-time actions.

© Anfield Watch

Finally, this one against Spurs. There's not much room at all in the build-up but his burst of pace creates something out of nothing, doesn't it? Again, he's attacking the byline. Again, he's showing aggression to make an off the ball run. Again, he's getting the ball into the box. And he's doing so, this time, on the underlap. He's a dual threat as a creator. Inside and out. He’s a bit of a cheat code, purely because of his pace and aggression.

You can’t help but feel he’d be a perfect foil for Wirtz. Kerkez is someone who needs to be managed by the opposition. His presence alone will create space for the German maestro, not that he needs much help being a creative menace.

His signing could go under the radar this summer. Kerkez could be pivotal to Slot and his team next season though.