'Can't carry the shirt!' – Milos Kerkez accused of failing to cope with the pressure at Liverpool and even bringing down 'rattled' Virgil van Dijk

Liverpool signed Kerkez from Bournemouth for £40 million ($55m) in the last transfer window, after he enjoyed an impressive year with the Cherries in the 2024-25 campaign.

The left-back was named in the Premier League Team of the Season after helping his side finish ninth in the league. But the Hungary internatinoal defender has flattered to deceive so far. While Kerkez has appeared in Arne Slot's starting lineup in all of the club's eight Premier League matches thus far, he only completed the full 90 minutes in five of those games. 

In his latest outing, Manchester United's vibrant right flank gave him no end of trouble and it arguably forced Virgil van Dijk to adapt and change his own game to try and help out.

Following the Reds' loss against United at Anfield on Sunday, former Premier League forward Clinton Morrison savaged Kerkez for yet another dismal performance as he also claimed that the Hungarian had also brought down Liverpool captain Van Dijk, who looked 'rattled' throughout the game, while trying to cover for the full-back on the left side.

On BBC's The Football Daily Podcast, ex-Premier League striker Morrison said: "It was probably one of the only Liverpool games that I've watched and thought Van Dijk looked rattled, especially in the first half. It's because he is having to cover Milos Kerkez, who I think right now has to come out of the team. He is struggling and does not look like he can carry that Liverpool shirt at the moment. Amad [Diallo] and Mbeumo were causing him a lot of problems down that side. It was actually Konate who was bailing Van Dijk out, which doesn't happen often. He was the best defender for Liverpool in this game."

Earlier in the season, Premier League and Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer had dissected Kerkez's troubles at Anfield as the former striker claimed that the 21-year-old seems to be in 'two minds' while defending, which is affecting his decision making on the match. 

On NBC Sports Soccer, Shearer had said: "At the minute, we are not seeing the same player, Kerkez, particularly on the left-hand side, as we saw at Bournemouth. He was free-flowing. He had the licence to go and roam and get forward. It seems as if he's caught in two minds, whether he's going to go or whether he’s going to stay and help protect Van Dijk and Konate."

The defending English champions had a succesful summer transfer window where they emerged as the Premier League's highest spenders. Liverpool broke the British transfer record twice in the same window as they brought in Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen and Alexander Isak from Newcastle. Stars like Hugo Ekitike, and Jeremie Frimpong also moved to the Merseyside, as the club parted ways with Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez. And while Ekitike has impressed, Kerkez is far from the only one to struggle.

The Reds kicked off the 2025-26 season on a bright note as they won seven games in succession, including five in the Premier League. However, things went south towards the end of September when they suffered a 2-1 loss against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. More heartbreak followed in Turkey as they went down 1-0 against Galatasaray in the Champions League. Slot's men were then beaten 2-1 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and failed to bounce back against United, slumping to a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions for the first time since 2014, pre-dating even the Jurgen Klopp era.

Slot will now hope that his side returns to winning ways as they shift their focus to European football. They will next face Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday in Germany. That marks a swift return to his former club for Ekitike, who has scored five times since joining Liverpool for up to £79m ($106m).