Kerkezattractseliteattentionassummerplansaccelerate
ManchesterCityhavesteppeduptheirinterestinBournemouthleft-backMilosKerkez,withsourcesindicatingthePremierLeaguechampionsarenowseriouscontenderstorivalLiverpoolfortheHungarianinternational’ssignature.
AsreportedbyiNews,Kerkezhasbeenalong-termtargetforLiverpoolandisunderstoodtofavouramovetoAnfield.However,theabsenceofanofficialbidfromtheMerseysideclubhascreatedanopeningwhichCityarenowlookingtoexploit.
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The21-year-old,currentlyvaluedat £45millionbyBournemouth,isbeingmonitoredbyseveraltopclubsacrossEurope.WhileLiverpoolhavealreadyhelddetaileddiscussionswiththeplayer’srepresentatives,thegrowinginterestfromPepGuardiola’ssidehasaddedanotherlayerofintriguetowhatcouldbeoneofthesummer’searliesttransfertussles.
Cityeyespecialisttofillvoidatleft-back
City’spursuitofKerkezreflectsabroaderstrategicreshuffle.WithJoskoGvardiolincreasinglyutilisedincentralareasandacademyprospectNicoO’Reillyfillinginatleft-backduringtheFACupfinal,Guardiolaisknowntobeseekingamorenaturalfitfortherole.
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HugoViana,City’srecentlyappointeddirectoroffootball,isthoughttobeparticularlykeenontheHungarianinternational,whohasimpressedsincearrivingattheVitalityStadium.DespiteBournemouth’sfirmstanceonthepriceandtheabsenceofareleaseclause,City’sfinancialresourcespositionthemtomeetthevaluationwithoutdelay.
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Liverpoolstillweighingalternatives
Liverpool’sheadcoachArneSlothasidentifiedthefull-backpositionasoneofseveralareasrequiringreinforcementthissummer.AlthoughKerkezremainsapriority,iNews notestheRedsarealsotrackingAjax’steenagedefenderJorrelHato,whoseversatilitycouldpresentamorecost-effectivesolution.
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Slotrecentlystateditwouldbea “big”summeratAnfield,andtheclubareactivelypursuingmultipletargets.WhileadealforKerkezisstillinplay,thefailuretolandDeanHuijsen,whochoseRealMadrid,highlightsthecompetitivenatureofthissummer’smarket.
BattlefortoptalentintensifiesamongPremierLeaguegiants
WiththeexpandedClubWorldCuponthehorizonandseveralclubsunderlessfinancialstrain,top-flightsidesareeagertocompletedealsearly.Executivesacrosstheleaguehavenotedamoreaggressivemarkettone,particularlyamongtitlecontenderswhoviewthenextfewmonthsascriticaltosquadevolution.
LiverpoolandCitymayfindthemselvesrepeatedlygoinghead-to-head.AsiNews alsoreported,bothclubshavepreviouslyexploredmovesforFlorianWirtz,althoughCityhavenowdistancedthemselvesduetoBayerLeverkusen’s £126mvaluation,leavingLiverpoolandBayernMunichincontention.
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OurView –EPLIndexAnalysis
MilosKerkezisundoubtedlytalented –quick,technicallysoundandaggressiveinhisdefensiveduels –but £45millionissteepforsomeonestilladjustingtoPremierLeaguefootball.
Citydoneedanothernaturalleft-back.Gvardiol’stransitioninsidehasworkedwell,andO’Reillyispromisingbutnowherenearreadyforconsistenttop-levelminutes.Kerkezwouldfillagap,buthe’snotaproveneliteperformeryet.AtCity,that’stheexpectationfromdayone.
ThebiggestconcerniswhetherthisisatargetedmoveorsimplyareactiontoLiverpool’sinterest.We’veseenCityenterracesbefore –sometimessuccessfully,sometimesnot –butthisfeelslikeacalculatedpuntmorethanamust-buy.IfHugoVianaisgenuinelypushingit,theremustbeabeliefinKerkez’slong-termpotential,yetfanswouldbeforgivenforexpectingamorecomplete,establishedoption.
Inasummerthat’sgoingtobedrivenbyearlydecisionsandtightmargins,Citycannotaffordtomisjudgethebalancebetweenpotentialandpedigree.IfKerkezjoins,he’llneedtohitthegroundrunning.Nobedding-inperiod,nolearningcurve –justperformances.