Manchester United legend Paul Scholes expressed his lack of faith in Liverpool left-back Milos Kerkez, stating that he isn’t up to the standard that the club requires.
The Hungarian fullback has had a turbulent start to life on Merseyside, since arriving from Bournemouth for £40 million last summer. Despite showing glimpses of his quality, he hasn’t been able to string together a run of good performances for the club.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football Podcast, Scholes said, “I think Liverpool are still struggling in the fullback areas.
“Kerkez, I don’t think it’s nice to say but I don’t think he’s good enough for Liverpool.”
The Reds did not start in ideal fashion away at Newcastle. The Magpies took the lead twice in the match, but both times were pegged back: first by Cody Gakpo, who found the bottom corner from long range, and later by a 99th-minute penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai.
The performance was lacklustre in many departments, but Scholes pinned responsibility for Newcastle’s opener on Kerkez. The left-back was caught in transition high up the pitch, leaving space for Anthony Elanga to charge through on goal and fire past Alisson.
“He [Kerkez] is going to get targeted every single week,” he continued.
“They were just targeting that side all the time. He’s up against Elanga and a lot of people struggle against Elanga but if you’ve got a little bit about you, you make sure you don’t get yourself in those positions.”
It looks unlikely that Liverpool will sign a new left-back to usurp the 22-year-old in the final week of the transfer window. The priority for the club is to sign at least one winger, if not more, should Cody Gakpo, who is linked with a move away, depart for pastures new.
So, for now, it seems that Kerkez will remain the Reds’ starting fullback. The saving grace is that new manager Andoni Iraola has experience managing the Hungarian from their time together at Bournemouth. With any luck, that shared history will help him rediscover his form and thrive under the bright lights of Anfield.
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