Since returning to Liverpool for the start of pre-season, Milos Kerkez has been busy setting the record straight.
“I keep having to explain that I never got married this summer,” he laughs after taking a seat in a plush rooftop bar overlooking downtown Chicago. “I was going around the club and people started to congratulate me. Everyone gets this wrong. I’m like: ‘No, I’m not ready for this yet!’.”
The confusion stemmed from the photographs he posted to his two million Instagram followers earlier this month of him arm-in-arm with a bride.
“It was my brother Rade who got married,” he says. “In Serbia, it is normal for the younger brothers to take the bride to the church. That’s what I did and now everyone thinks I got married. There are three of us: Rade is the oldest, I’m the youngest and Marko is the middle one.”
For the 22-year-old left-back, the end of the summer break couldn’t come soon enough. He only watched a handful of World Cup matches as Hungary failed to qualify.
He enjoyed some downtime with family and friends in Montenegro, Spain and Serbia (where he was born and grew up in, but represents Hungary, the land of his paternal grandmother), but was eager to be reunited with his Liverpool team-mates. “Honestly, it was getting boring after about 10 days, so I needed to get in the gym and touch the ball a bit,” he says.
Kerkez’s sense of excitement stemmed from the dawn of a new era at Anfield. He knew better than anyone in the squad what to expect following the appointment of Andoni Iraola as Arne Slot’s successor.
He flourished under Iraola after joining Bournemouth from Dutch club AZ in the summer of 2023. He clocked up 74 appearances over two seasons, with his form earning him a place in the 2024-25 PFA Team of the Year and a £40million move to Liverpool. Now player and coach are reunited at Anfield.
Milos Kerkez and Andoni Iraola built a strong relationship at Bournemouth (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
“I worked for him before and he helped me and improved me a lot in the two years that I spent with him,” Kerkez says. “I was really happy he got the job: obviously for myself but also for the team. Everyone knows what type of football he plays, so I think he is the perfect fit for us.
“He’s all about intensity. He’s not scared to play one-on-one all over the pitch, to press high and to be on the front foot always. I think the other guys also like how he works.
“He’s very professional. He likes to talk sometimes but not a lot. I think maybe he doesn’t want to get too close to some players and wants to show that everyone is the same in the team. He shows a lot of emotion on the sidelines but in the locker room and in training, he’s pretty calm.”
In order to play Iraola’s demanding brand of football, fitness is key. There have been gruelling double training sessions in sweltering conditions during the current tour of the United States.
“If you see the footage of how we all are after training, all lying down, then you can see what he is preparing us for,” Kerkez adds. “You definitely need legs and good condition for what he wants us to do, but we will be alright.
“Sometimes we play some games with three or four teams and he calls it ‘consequences’. The losing team has to run. How much you have to run depends on what he decides in that moment, but there is always running for the team that loses.
“I like to run a lot. It’s why I stay after training. I run from one penalty area to the other. There and back, rest, then there and back again. I’ve always been the kind of guy who has to move. That’s why I can keep on running.”
Kerkez enjoyed mixed fortunes during his first season at Liverpool. He made 48 appearances in all competitions (38 starts), contributing two goals and two assists.
However, it wasn’t easy trying to make his mark in a team which had lost its way so alarmingly. Finishing fifth in the Premier League salvaged Champions League qualification but Slot paid the price for their struggles when he was sacked a week after the season ended.
“It was a big surprise. I was back in Serbia, I was sleeping when my brother woke me up and showed me the news (about Slot),” he explains.
“Nobody knew. I couldn’t believe it. I was like: ‘Wow’. I have been in touch with him since and we have exchanged a few messages.
“Last season was tough for everyone. When you are here, you need to play to win things. We had moments when we fought back and then we had tough moments again. It wasn’t good for our standards. We need to improve this year.”
After spending 12 months working alongside Andy Robertson, Kerkez is now the clear first choice at left-back following the long-serving Scotsman’s emotional departure at the end of last season. Kostas Tsimikas, who returned to the club this summer after a season on loan at Roma, will provide back-up.
“Andy helped me a lot,“ he says. ”He’s a legend. He did a lot of big things for this club and won everything. I’m not running away from that. He’s someone I look up to.
“But it’s not like I was held back or whatever because Andy was there. I just do my own thing. I want to make my own way. I always like to compete. It doesn’t matter who it is.
“Kostas is back and I get on well with him. There is no bad blood. Kostas is Greek, I’m Serbian, and we have that kind of similar mentality.”
Andy Robertson’s move to Tottenham Hotspur means Milos Kerkez will be undisputed first choice this season (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Trying to emulate what Robertson achieved over the course of his nine years at Liverpool is a daunting prospect but Kerkez insists his background means he doesn’t feel under pressure to deliver.
“I grew up a bit different in Serbia,” he says. “It’s just your job. Do your own damn job. Honestly, I don’t care about pressure. It’s a normal thing.
“You play good, you play bad; it’s a process. It’s all about growing. If you play bad, in three days you have another game. Everyone is going to forget how you played three days earlier. There is always a new game coming and then you have to do good stuff. That’s it.”
What does he mean by how it was “different” growing up in Serbia?
“For example, I started to drive a truck when I was 10 years old!” Kerkez explains.
“It was with my dad. I climbed in and took the wheel. He was doing the pedals. I was only quite small, so I couldn’t reach the pedals.
“I don’t know if it was legal or not. We’re more on the streets. I could say 10 other things that I did when I was younger… I won’t. I already gave you this example.”
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Family is everything to Kerkez and his parents live with him in a house outside Liverpool. Having father Sebastijan around means there’s never any danger of him getting carried away.
“My brothers have their own lives now but my mum and dad are still with me, and I am much happier they are,” he says. “My dad is here to smack me sometimes on the top of the head to remind me about things. Sometimes you play a few good games and you maybe start to get a bit high, but with my dad, I come straight back down and I switch straight back on.”
Kerkez has a close friendship with fellow Hungary international Dominik Szoboszlai, who recently committed his long-term future to Liverpool by signing a new five-year contract. The pair would frequently socialise with Mohamed Salah, who, like Robertson, waved goodbye to Anfield in May.
“I still speak with Mo often, but I don’t know who he is signing for! We just talk about vacations,” he insists.
“I looked up at the TV before we left the AXA for this tour and it showed how many goals and assists combined Mo had for Liverpool. It was 300 and something. I just walked out! What is this?! Time flies.
“Now it’s a new generation with new players and hopefully, everything will be good. Dom signing his contract is very important for us. He is getting even better in that role of a leader. Everyone is really happy that he is continuing here for longer.”
Milos Kerkez with good friends Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)
As for Kerkez, there was a sense watching him last season that his attacking instincts were reined in by Slot’s tactical approach. Iraola will give his full-backs more of a licence to get forward, which should certainly suit his skillset.
“The gaffer likes to play more with the full-backs down the line; underlapping, overlapping,” he adds. “It worked well for me at Bournemouth, so I think it will also work well for me here. He always told me that as a full-back, you need to defend hard and everything that you do in front is a bonus.
“I was always focused on defending and then running forward to help the wingers. He showed me that when you do your job, you’re free then to do what you want. I felt really free with him. I know what it means to play for Liverpool. I showed it a bit last year and I am going to show it more this year.”
