Liverpool looks set to continue its uncharacteristic transfer spree with the addition of Milos Kerkez. Before the 21-year-old has even set foot in the building, a club legend has handed out a warning.
Kerkez had an impressive season at Bournemouth. The left-back was voted into the Fans' Team of the Season, and his arrival at Anfield would signal astute succession planning in respect of 31-year-old Andy Robertson.
There's every chance that Kerkez could quickly claim the starting berth in Arne Slot's side. But even in comparison to Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz, he would be arriving at Liverpool with something extra to prove.
Liverpool has not made a significant number of signings from a position of such strength for a generation or more. It has the allure of being the reigning Premier League champion, as well as boasting a number of established top names already.
If the latest addition to the trophy cabinet does not swing a prospective signing, then the continued presence of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk might do the trick. Their extensions were a clear marker of Liverpool's ambitions.
And Slot has been making full use of the club's cachet. In Wirtz and Frimpong, he has lured two integral cogs of a team that recently went unbeaten in the Bundesliga.
Wirtz, in particular, is the jewel of the German top flight. He was genuinely one of the world's most coveted players, and he has chosen Liverpool as his destination.
Kerkez, for all his strengths, currently holds a slightly different status. While he is still a coup for Liverpool, signed amid competition from other top clubs, the Hungarian is taking a bigger step up than his peers in making the move to Anfield.
It is a well-trodden path: the likes of Van Dijk and Salah were forged into winners at Liverpool, not signed ready-made. But the legendary Alan Kennedy has issued a reminder that staying on top requires the absolute highest standards.
"It’s important you sign the right characters that you want," Kennedy told SportsBoom. "And in Mo Salah and Van Dijk, they have two great winners.
"Mo Salah is a winner, but if you’re not a winner don’t bother coming. Those two players have set the standard.
An aerial photograph of a mural of Alan Kennedy, Dinorwick Road, near Anfield, on April 01, 2025 in Liverpool, England.
Alan Kennedy knows what it takes to be a winner at Liverpool. (Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
"But you’ve got to keep that standard going now. You’ve won the league, so keep that brilliant standard going from the first game to the last game of the season.
"When I played many years ago, we had winners, lots of them. That’s what you need to be successful."
As yet, Kerkez cannot call himself a winner. Spells at Milan, AZ Alkmaar and Bournemouth have so far yielded no silverware.
But Kennedy's warning should not prompt Kerkez to catch the next train back to Bournemouth. The 70-year-old was talking about the attitude it takes to be a Liverpool player, rather than any kind of minimum trophy threshold.
Kennedy himself arrived at Liverpool having won nothing, with only an FA Cup runners-up medal to his name from his six years with Newcastle. He would go on to win five league titles and two European Cups at Anfield, not to mention four consecutive League Cup triumphs.
Character assessments are an important part of Liverpool's scouting process. The relevant people are clearly satisfied that Kerkez will fit into an ambitious group.
If he ends up with even a fraction of Kennedy's trophy haul, then Kerkez will have done well. But he must set his sights on similarly dizzying trophy hauls — Liverpool is in the process of building another dynasty, and anyone joining must be ready to push for those heights.