Liverpool are preparing to make a move for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez, with the Hungarian international expected to leave the Cherries this summer.

The 21-year-old has impressed under Andoni Iraola this season, playing a key role in Bournemouth’s push for European football this season, contributing two goals and four assists in 27 Premier League appearances.

His attacking output, combined with his defensive reliability, makes him a hot full-back property and Bournemouth are well aware of Kerkez’s growing value, setting a price tag in excess of £40m.

Fabrizio Romano confirmed Manchester United are not among his suitors despite January links after Patrick Dorgu joined from Lecce in the winter window and became the latest signing to fall into the pit of despair at Old Trafford.

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That leaves the path open for Liverpool, who are looking to reinforce their left-back options, with Andy Robertson struggling for form in the first half of the season.

The Scottish defender has been a vital player for Liverpool over the years, but his performances have dipped, prompting the club to seek potential replacements.

Arne Slot has done an impressive job with the squad left behind by Jurgen Klopp, but he is expected to make changes this summer.

Liverpool’s only major signing since his arrival has been Federico Chiesa for £10m and he is yet to make any impact at Anfield. The club is now thought to be prioritising defensive reinforcements, with Kerkez emerging as a serious target.

According to transfer expert Romano, Liverpool are among several clubs monitoring Kerkez ahead of the summer window. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano confirmed:

“Liverpool are tracking the player. Liverpool have been monitoring the player and Milos Kerkez will be in the list of several clubs including–but not only–Liverpool. For sure, (he) will be one to watch in the summer transfer window.”

Even though there is a hefty price tag, Liverpool may have the upper hand when it comes to negotiations as sporting director Richard Hughes was a former technical director at Bournemouth and knows Kerkez well, having signed him for Bournemouth from AZ Alkmaar for £15.5m in July 2023. It’s thought he could play a key role in bringing the Hungarian to Anfield.

With Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas both failing to impress consistently, Liverpool want to add competition at left-back.

As the summer transfer window approaches, Liverpool are among the frontrunners for Kerkez’s signature, but will they pay the asking price for a position that is priority or will they look elsewhere as they will likely face competition from other top European clubs?

Antony’s agent has hit back at Ruben Amorim after the Manchester United head coach revealed one reason for his struggles at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils paid around £86m to sign Antony from Dutch giants Ajax during the 2022 summer transfer window, which contributes to them being second in our Premier League net spend table

Erik ten Hag made Antony his priority target ahead of his first season at Man Utd, and they massively overpaid to sign the Brazil international.

Antony struggled to adapt to life at Man Utd and fell in the pecking order ahead of this season. He failed to make a single Premier League start in 2024/25 before he joined Real Betis on loan in January.

The 25-year-old has been a revelation at Real Betis, contributing three goals and two assists in his seven appearances across all competitions.

When asked why Antony is thriving at Real Betis after failing at Man Utd, Amorim claimed “physicality” was the main reason for his woes.

“When you play against any team in England, the physicality is there. If you don’t have physicality, you will struggle a lot,” Amorim claimed.

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“Antony is so much better now in Spain. It’s [because of] a lot of factors but I guarantee you it’s physicality.”

Now, Antony’s agent – Junior Pedroso – has hit out at Amorim’s “very superficial argument” and revealed the “truth” on his struggle at Man Utd.

“We respect the opinion of coach Ruben Amorim, but we completely disagree with his analysis. To attribute Antony’s lack of success at Manchester United solely to the question of physicality is a very superficial argument and does not reflect reality,” Pedroso said.

“The truth is that Antony has not had enough prominence or the confidence necessary to play his best football. Of the 15 games in which Amorim managed Manchester United, he only used Antony in nine, with a total of 252 minutes played.

“This represents only 18.6% of the total possible minutes (1,350 minutes). How can you judge an athlete without a minimum sequence to prove his worth?”

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Pedroso continued: “The manager’s statement, although perhaps it was not his intention, ends up devaluing La Liga and the Spanish competitions.

“Spanish football has one of the most competitive leagues in the world, with top-level teams that constantly compete in the final stages of the Champions League and the Europa League.

“The reality is that Antony, since he arrived at Real Betis, has become one of the best players in the team and in the competition itself, demonstrating his full potential when given the right conditions to develop his game.

“This highlights that the problem was not the physicality, but the context and the way he was managed in Manchester.

“Many players who do not prosper at United find success at other clubs, which leads us to wonder if the problem really lies with the players.”

Kobbie Mainoo is not a generational talent and Man Utd should take the money for both him and Alejandro Garnacho if it is offered in the summer.

The ever-thirsty Mark Goldbridge has deemed it “ridiculous” that Kobbie Mainoo has asked Manchester United for wages of £180,000 a week, but in truth it would be ridiculous if the England midfielder’s agent had not pointed at Casemiro and mouthed the words ‘is my man not worth half of that?’. United are perhaps lucky Mainoo has not asked for more than parity with Harry Maguire.

But does that mean United should not sell Mainoo? Does that mean he should be deemed unsellable or untouchable? Quite apart from the fact that in these PSR-influenced times, no player should be deemed unsellable (even Arsenal would not dismiss a £200m bid for Bukayo Saka), Mainoo is not a generational talent; being among the finest players to emerge from the Manchester United Academy over the last five years says more about their broken system than his brilliance.

Mainoo is not an elite central midfielder – we saw as much in the Euro 2024 final – as he lacks the discipline, composure and physicality for the role. Perhaps that will come – he is still only 19 – but Ruben Amorim rightfully has no trust in him as part of a double pivot. He pointedly said Mainoo was “struggling a lot defending” before moving him further forward to flourish in a more advanced role against poor opposition in the Europa League.

But back on home soil, he struggled as a striker against Crystal Palace and then against Leicester in the FA Cup as one of the No. 10s. None of the roles in Amorim’s preferred system particularly suit Mainoo. He is an undisciplined, ball-carrying midfielder and if Chelsea or any other club wants to meet United’s supposed asking price of £70-80m (pure profit) for an undisciplined, ball-carrying midfielder, dismissing that offer would be far more ridiculous than any wage demands.

We are repeatedly told that Manchester United need to sell before they can buy this summer, and this is not a squad awash with valuable assets. United are actually lucky that three of their most sellable players are also Academy products. And by coincidence, none are stalwarts in Amorim’s first-choice line-up. Put like that, taking £70-80m for Mainoo, similar for Alejandro Garnacho and another £40m for Marcus Rashford, feels like a no-brainer.

The only argument against the sales of Mainoo and Garnacho – apart from misty-eyed talk of once again building around Academy players, one of whom is a Madrid-born Argentine international – is fear of them thriving elsewhere. But that’s just not how more recently successful clubs operate, with Manchester City taking money for Cole Palmer and Liam Delap, and Chelsea accepting Atletico Madrid cash for Conor Gallagher.

Garnacho could thrive in a system that needs a chalk-hugging winger who cannot finish his dinner and Mainoo may well blossom alongside a genuine defensive midfielder ahead of a solid back four that needs little protection, but clinging on to ill-suited players because fear of their success outweighs your own fear of failure is ludicrous.

Having said there was only one argument against selling the pair for sizeable fees, there is an enormous elephant in the room. Would you trust this version of Manchester United to sensibly spend a potential £150m? A ranking of their incomings post-Fergie is a largely miserable list of wasted money, potential or both.

Liverpool rebuilt their entire midfield – the foundations for a very likely Premier League title – for less than £150m but would you trust Manchester United to spend even half as wisely? Or spend at all in light of money saved by soup and vouchers?

But the truth is that unless United spin that wheel, they will start next season with this same squad of players ill-suited to both Amorim’s system and the upper reaches of the Premier League. And that really would be ridiculous.

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