Sources address claims Liverpool regret Milos Kerkez deal as transfer plans are confirmed | OneFootball

Liverpool have absolutely no intentions of moving to replace Milos Kerkez in 2026 amid claims the Reds are starting to regret his £40m signing – while Virgil van Dijk has been destroyed for his part in ‘draining the Hungarian’s confidence’ in a stark warning to the Reds captain.

We exclusively revealed the news 14 months ago that Liverpool were forward-planning to replace Andy Robertson and were ready to make a move to bring Kerkez to Anfield – a transfer which ultimately came to fruition when a £40m (€45m, $51m) deal was struck with Bournemouth over the summer.

But while Liverpool have failed to produce their consistent best this season and already find themselves seven points behind leaders Arsenal, lots of the attention has been placed on Kerkez, who has looked out of his depth during his Reds career so far and found himself dropped on Saturday as the Merseysiders returned to winning ways in a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa.

With the man he was brought to replace, Robertson, producing a composed performance down the left-hand side of Liverpool’s defence and with fans claiming Arne Slot’s side looked far more comfortable with the experienced Scot at full-back, it remains to be seen if Kerkez can reclaim his place in the starting line-up any time soon.

Furthermore, amid some speculation that the Reds now regret the decision to bring in Kerkez and with some fans drawing comparisons between the Hungarian and former full-back, Alberto Moreno, our reporter Dean Jones has moved to clarify the speculation over the 21-year-old.

“As far as I know, it is not the plan to go and sign another full-back despite the problems they have been having,” Jones told TEAMtalk.

“Kerkez is going to have to improve, though, and by the end of the year, they should have [right-back] Jeremie Frimpong back in action too.

“Liverpool made a statement in the summer window, and at the time it was in mind with having a group of players that would go through the whole season.

“Obviously, this campaign has started in a more rocky manner than they would have expected, but signing more players is probably not going to be the solution to this.”

Jones’ comments come after Van Dijk was told that he was a big factor in Kerkez’s struggles, and his constant berating of the star has seen his confidence drained….

Has Van Dijk caused Milos Kerkez unnecessary suffering?

With an average rating of 6.47 so far this season from WhoScored, it’s safe to say Kerkez has failed to produce the levels expected of him.

But it is worth noting too that the man he was bought to replace – Robertson – also endured a slower-than-expected adaptation to life on Merseyside following his move from Hull in 2017.

And at 21 – though he does turn 22 on November 7 – there is still plenty of time on his side to improve and show himself worthy of the Reds shirt.

In the meantime, pundit Craig Burley feels his struggles have not been helped by Van Dijk and the Liverpool captain’s constant public harranging of the star, which he feels has ‘drained his confidence’.

“You can maybe look at the full-backs beside them and Kerkez has definitely struggled, but I have mentioned several times that Van Dijk is not helping him as a captain,” he told ESPN.

“He is really throwing him under the bus a little bit with his gesticulating to him in front of the crowd. As a young player, it just drains your confidence. But there is no doubt himself and [Ibrahima] Konate have not played well.”

Meanwhile, Ibrahima Konate has sent a rallying call to Liverpool fans ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League showdown with Real Madrid in a game being billed as the Frenchman’s transfer audition – but new reports in Spain suggest his poor form for the Reds has seen the Spanish giants accelerate moves for two other targets instead.

Meanwhile, it’s been claimed that a ‘calm and composed’ Arne Slot never once feared the Liverpool sack after an ally compared him to Pep Guardiola and with Van Dijk also hitting out at the media noise.