Liverpool slumped to a fourth straight defeat against bitter rivals Manchester United on Sunday on what was another afternoon to forget for Reds new boy Milos Kerkez
Milos Kerkez was branded “a nervous wreck” by Jamie Redknapp during Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United as the Hungary international’s struggles continued on Sunday afternoon.
Kerkez was one of Bournemouth’s most consistent and impressive Premier League performers last season, form which earned him a £45million summer move to Anfield. But the 21-year-old has struggled to replicate those displays in a Liverpool shirt and looked a shadow of the player who caught the eye on the south coast as United condemned the Premier League champions to a fourth straight defeat.
Before the inquest started post-match, United went in at the break 1-0 up courtesy of a goal inside two minutes from Bryan Mbeumo. And Redknapp, analysing the game for Sky Sports, singled out Kerkez as he and Roy Keane summed up the first half.
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Jamie Redknapp said: “Kerkez is very nervous. He’s like a nervous wreck out there. I feel for him.
“It’s almost a bit too much for him. The game is happening a bit too fast and Diallo is causing him problems. Like you’ve mentioned, with Mbeumo and Cunha they’ve gone for a different approach with a bit more pace.”
Kerkez was touted as a target for months before the summer transfer window opened with Liverpool in need of competition for Andy Robertson. The youngster has been criticised on more than one occasion, though, since joining the champions.
After struggling in Liverpool’s defeat against Chelsea prior to the international break, Kerkez was likened to a youth team player by Gary Neville, who expressed concerns after watching him lose duels that he felt the defender should be winning.
“The boy Kerkez, to be honest with you, at this point in time, he looks like a youth-team player,” he said on The Gary Neville Podcast. “I know he’s a good player, but he looks like he’s playing for the youth team, or the Under-21s.
“He looks so naïve; he looks like a baby out there. He’s losing 50-50s with Neto!”
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“He’s had Premier League experience, it’s not like he’s come in from another country,” Neville continued. “He’s got a lot of games under his belt, he’s played at these grounds before, so I expected him to slot in.
“One, he’s playing alongside Virgil Van Dijk, the best centre half in the world, so if you want to play in a back four, you want to play with great defenders and he is doing.
“And he’s got players who work hard on that side, it’s not like he’s playing on the right with Salah in front of him, which is always a bit more difficult because you always get a little bit more exposed.
“But I have to say from the first ten minutes of that game against Bournemouth on the first game of the season, he’s struggled.”
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