Liverpool's Milos Kerkez heads the ball
Premier League - Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - December 13, 2025 Liverpool's Milos Kerkez in action REUTERS/Phil Noble
Liverpool fans will be keeping their fingers firmly crossed that Andoni Iraola brings out the very best in Milos Kerkez.
A £40m signing from Bournemouth in June 2025, the Hungary international's start to life at Anfield has been far from smooth sailing.
Under Iraola at Bournemouth, the left-back was one of the most exciting youngsters in the Premier League with his marauding runs down the left flank.
In his final season for the Cherries prior to the big-money transfer to Liverpool that he fully deserved, Kerkez contributed two goals and six assists in 41 appearances as he was named as one of six nominees for the PFA Young Player of the Year award in the process.
Liverpool have not seen this version of Kerkez on a consistent basis during his time on Merseyside, though.
Instead, the left-back has been criticised for his defensive frailties, inconsistent performances and football intelligence.
The ex-AZ Alkmaar player again found himself in the spotlight on Wednesday evening as Atletico Madrid capitalised on some poor defensive play from the full-back to open the scoring at Anfield in their Champions League clash.
Marcos Llorente spotted a gaping hole between Virgil van Dijk and Kerkez in the 17th minute, running off the left-back's shoulder to collect Julian Alvarez's precise through ball and going through untracked to finish superbly in front of the Kop.
Unsurprisingly, Kerkez came in for criticism for his role in Atleti's opener as Ally McCoist, co-commentator on TNT Sports' coverage of the game, stated that Kerkez had to stay with the onrushing Llorente rather than give him a free run.
James Pearce of The Athletic tweeted at the time of the goal that it was "so poor from Kerkez".
Kerkez did help atone for his poor defending in the 40th minute of the contest with a strong run through the middle of the pitch towards Atleti's box to tee up Bradley Barcola for a chance that was saved, with Dominik Szoboszlai putting the ball in the net seconds later.
Liverpool did go on to win the match 2-1 courtesy of Alexis Mac Allister's strike from outside the box as they made the perfect start to their Champions League campaign.
Kerkez did not complete the full 90 minutes, however, as he was forced off two minutes from time due to cramp.
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What next for Kerkez?
Liverpool's Milos Kerkez in action with Galatasaray's Sacha Boey
All watching Liverpool's Champions League opener on Wednesday evening saw both sides of Kerkez.
Following some suspect defending that Atleti and Llorente benefited from, he then had an impact in the final third as fellow countryman Szoboszlai restored parity from his attacking run.
Question marks have been rightly raised about Kerkez in a Liverpool shirt, with the player still having some way to go to becoming a success story at Anfield and not finding himself in the category of transfer misses such as Naby Keita.
The Hungary international always had a tough act to follow in Andy Robertson, whose consistent displays at left-back were a major part of the team's success under Jurgen Klopp as they lifted silverware on a regular basis.
Consistency is what Kerkez desperately needs, though, and the same goes for cutting out the defensive frailties that have unfortunately plagued his game at Liverpool.
Iraola knows how to get the very best out of Kerkez, however, and that is something he must do sooner rather than later to stop the £40m signing from becoming a transfer disaster.