Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez is attracting the interest of at least four clubs ahead of the summer transfer window, with Liverpool chief among those.
Kerkez has been widely reported as a primary target for Liverpool heading into the summer, with the Hungarian at the forefront of their list of left-back targets.
While a deal worth in the region of £45 million has been seen as a foregone conclusion by some, there is no suggestion at this stage that talks have been opened with Bournemouth.
And according to well-connected journalist David Ornstein, speaking to NBC Sports this week, Liverpool are not alone in pursuing the 21-year-old.
Man City, AC Milan and Napoli are named as other suitors for Kerkez, who made his 35th appearance of the season for Bournemouth in Monday night’s 1-0 win over Fulham.
At face value, it would appear as though Liverpool are the most attractive destination of those clubs – particularly as Kerkez has already spent time with AC Milan before heading to the Premier League via the Netherlands.
But it demonstrates the strong position Bournemouth could be in during any negotiations over a player who has two goals and six assists from left-back this term.
The same cannot be said of centre-back Dean Huijsen, who is also a target for Liverpool, with a £50 million release clause simplifying talks over the 20-year-old Spain international.
And while the Reds have also been credited with an interest in Bournemouth‘s match-winner on Monday night, winger Antoine Semenyo, Ornstein has suggested he is less likely to depart.
Noting interest from Man United, the journalist explained that the Cherries would be seeking a club-record fee in excess of the £65 million received from Tottenham when they sold Dominic Solanke last summer.
And given the expectation is that Bournemouth would only sell two of those three players, Semenyo seems the least realistic departure.
Liverpool hold “firm interest” in Huijsen
In a previous update for The Athletic, Ornstein described earlier reports of interest in Huijsen as “accurate,” adding that Liverpool hold “firm interest” and are one of “three leading contenders” along with Chelsea and Arsenal.
Newcastle and Tottenham are also interested and those five clubs “have all held meetings or conversations with Huijsen’s camp.”
Any move for the 20-year-old – considered one of the best young centre-backs in world football and already a standout in the Premier League – would be made smoother by that £50 million release clause.
Interestingly, Ornstein notes this in particular as something “we’ve seen Liverpool capitalise on in the past.”
Liverpool signed both Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai two years ago after learning of release clauses in their contracts at Brighton and RB Leipzig, while Ibrahima Konate was also brought in from Leipzig by the same method in 2021.
