A Bournemouth teammate of Milos Kerkez has seemingly let the cat out of the bag regarding the Hungarian’s prospective transfer to Liverpool.
In tandem with the pursuit of Florian Wirtz, in which the Reds have reportedly made a significant breakthrough over the past 24 hours, sporting director Richard Hughes also seems to be closing in on a deal for the Cherries left-back.
On Tuesday, Fabrizio Romano claimed (via X) that the transfer now appears to be simply a ‘matter of (short) time’, with the ‘final round of talks’ due to take place ‘very soon’.
Kluivert drops strong Kerkez transfer hint
It was Hughes who oversaw Bournemouth’s signing of Kerkez two years ago, and an admission from one of his teammates at the Vitality Stadium indicates that a move to Liverpool seems to be a case of when and not if.
Justin Kluivert appeared to strongly hint at the prospective transaction after Netherlands’ 8-0 thumping of Malta on Tuesday night, telling VoetbalPrimeur: “He’ll probably go there. I hope so for him. He hasn’t really said goodbye yet, but I hope he’ll make it happen there.”
Liverpool not hanging around as Kerkez set to join Reds revolution
The upcoming Club World Cup has shifted the goalposts somewhat in terms of this summer’s transfer window, which opened earlier than usual to allow participating teams to sign players ahead of the tournament.
Manchester City have duly indulged in a marketplace blitz in recent days by completing deals for Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Marcus Bettinelli, and the haste at which one of Liverpool’s main domestic competitors have strengthened their squad could be playing a part in cajoling Hughes into early action.
The Reds have already secured the signing of Jeremie Frimpong and, all going well, will also add Wirtz and Kerkez in the coming days. In addition, Graeme Bailey cited next summer’s World Cup as a factor in clubs wanting to get a few players through the door in early June so that they’d have a proper break on and off the pitch this year.
With Kluivert effectively admitting that the Bournemouth defender is set to join LFC, the 21-year-old should have his transfer completed well in time for the start of pre-season in July, which’ll give him a few weeks to adjust to the responsiblities that Arne Slot has mapped out for him.
Liverpool’s left-back options are about to get a refresh for the first time since Kostas Tsimikas’ arrival at Anfield five years ago, and ironically the Greek Scouser could make way this summer if competition for a starting berth intensifies with the impending acquisition of the Cherries’ number 3.
Piece by piece, we’re beginning to see the first signs of Slot truly making his imprint on the composition of the Reds’ starting XI.
