“Vacation was a bit too long!” – Liverpool star looks ahead to pre-season | OneFootball

Milos Kerkez Sets the Tone as Liverpool Pre-Season Begins Under Andoni Iraola

Pre-season quotes are usually wallpaper. Players say they are glad to be back, everyone nods, and training-ground pictures do the rest. With Milos Kerkez, it sounded more convincing. The Liverpool left-back returned to the AXA Training Centre this week and made it plain that the break had gone on long enough for him.

He said: “I’m really happy to be back. I think vacation was a bit too long for me, to be honest!” That is the sort of line supporters want to hear, particularly at the start of a new era under Andoni Iraola. There is no mystery about what Liverpool need now, energy, clarity and players ready to work.

Kerkez added: “I missed training, I missed the ball, so I’m really happy to be here. I got a lot of time to see family and everyone, to enjoy some time [off], but like I said, I was feeling like after three weeks probably that I need training back, football back. I need to be back in Liverpool.” It is straightforward, and that matters. No fluff, no performance. Just a 22-year-old who looks like he has already switched back into competitive mode.

Photo: IMAGO

Kerkez Liverpool role looks stronger

Last season was not a soft introduction. Kerkez arrived at Liverpool and quickly pushed himself into the side, often ahead of Andy Robertson, who had owned that left-back role for the best part of eight years. That does not happen by accident, and it does not happen if a manager has doubts about your temperament.

Now the competition has changed shape. Robertson has gone, and Kostas Tsimikas is expected to provide the main challenge for minutes at left-back. That leaves Kerkez in a position where he should be thinking less about breaking in and more about owning the job.

There were rough patches in his first campaign, as there are with most young full-backs learning on the run at a club with Liverpool’s demands. His defending could be loose, his decision-making could rush, and there were moments when the pace of the game exposed him. None of that cancels out the broader point. He still made 48 appearances in all competitions and started 34 matches across the Premier League and Champions League. That is trust earned the hard way.

Andoni Iraola reunion could sharpen left-back spot

The reunion with Andoni Iraola matters. Kerkez produced the best form of his career under the new Liverpool head coach at Bournemouth in 2024/25, a season that led to recognition at PFA level. Iraola knows the player, knows the profile and knows how to use him. For Kerkez, that removes excuses. He is working again with the coach who already pulled his best football out of him once.

He also returned with the right attitude, saying: “Yes, I was training there and now it’s really good to see the players and everyone here with positive energy. We are focused and working towards the new season.” That is what Liverpool need after a chaotic 2025/26 and a managerial reset. Good intentions mean little by August, but standards in July still count.

Liverpool pre-season gives Kerkez chance to kick on

Kerkez had more than five weeks off after his last Hungary appearance on 5 June, time that included family celebrations and a proper break. Fine. Players need that. What matters now is what follows. Liverpool do not need sentiment or development projects for the sake of it. They need production.

Kerkez has already shown he can handle a heavy workload. The next step is consistency, fewer defensive lapses, better timing in the final third and the authority to make the position his without debate. At 22, with Iraola back in the building and a full season of Liverpool behind him, the setup is there.

The talking part is over quickly in pre-season. It always is. But if Kerkez really was desperate to get back on the pitch, good. Liverpool need more of that, and they need him to prove it over the next ten months.