Milos Kerkez and Liverpool’s Left-Back Problem, Why Patience Still Matters

Milos Kerkez divides opinion. That much is obvious. For some Liverpool supporters, the 22-year-old has not done enough since arriving from Bournemouth to justify the noise around him. For others, the talent is clear and the wider context matters.

Both can be true.

Kerkez came in as the long-term successor to Andy Robertson, a player who set a very high bar at left-back over the best part of a decade. Replacing that level of reliability, intensity and production was always going to be difficult. It becomes harder when the club environment is unstable, expectations remain absurdly high and every mistake gets magnified.

Robertson has offered a simple explanation for why Kerkez has taken longer than some expected. It has little to do with effort and a lot to do with role, rhythm and adjustment.

As explained in his recent interview on Stick to Football, Robertson said: “Last season I was quite lucky that I stayed and I tried to help him as much as I can, because it’s a huge jump, we all know that, from Bournemouth or Hull, no disrespect to those clubs but going to one of the biggest clubs in the world is tough.”

Kerkez adapting to Liverpool demands

This is the core of it. At Bournemouth, as at Hull in Robertson’s own case, a full-back works in a different reality. You defend more, you pick your moments to attack and the game often comes in shorter bursts. At Liverpool, the left-back is under constant pressure to contribute with the ball, overlap repeatedly, make the right final-third decision and deliver quality over and over again.

That shift sounds straightforward. It is not.

Robertson put it plainly: “I think at times he was getting better and better. It’s difficult, I had it at Hull as well, where we don’t dominate the ball a lot and maybe you get forward three, four times a game. Whereas when you go to Liverpool you’re getting forward 10 or 12 times in a game, so then your decision making and your crossing becomes more of a thing.”

That is the issue with Kerkez right now. Defensively, there is little doubt he has the aggression and athleticism. In isolated duels, he is hard to beat. He engages quickly, gets tight and makes opponents uncomfortable. Robertson made that point clearly when he said: “Milos, as a one-v-one defender, nobody wants to play against him, he’s an unbelievable defender, we’re talking about right in your face, really aggressive, but I would always speak to Milos about when we have the ball, 60 or 70 per cent possession, just slow down a little bit.”

That last line matters. Liverpool do not need chaos from that position every time. They need timing, control and better choices in possession. Kerkez has shown flashes of that, but not consistently enough.

Andy Robertson sees a route forward

It is worth noting that Robertson is not making excuses for him. He is identifying a specific football problem. The demand at Liverpool is not simply to run more or defend better. It is to think faster, choose better and stay composed while being heavily involved for long stretches.

Kerkez has also had to deal with another change, a new head coach. Robertson acknowledged that too, saying: “I think he definitely started to do that last season and he’s doing it again this season, but now a new manager’s came in again, I know he worked under him before but now everyone’s trying to settle in again.”

That is relevant. Systems change. Distances change. Full-backs are affected by that more than most because their role depends so heavily on structure around them, particularly on the left side in possession.

Still, Robertson’s conclusion is firm: “He’ll be a right good full-back for them, I’ve got no doubts about that. Because he’s got the right attitude and Liverpool fans can get on board with him. That’s why I thought, ‘d’you know what, he’ll be fine.’”

That is probably the most important part of the discussion. Talent gets players through the door. Attitude keeps them there.

Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak need context too

Kerkez is not the only one under scrutiny. Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak have both had to operate in a difficult setting, with Liverpool trying to move forward after a deeply traumatic period. Judgements made too early, or in isolation, tend to be lazy.

Robertson’s view is that the circumstances surrounding the squad have distorted how new signings are being assessed. He said: “The thing I feel sorry for him, and all the new signings last season, it was a tough season. We won the Premier League and then we didn’t reach the heights, and we all didn’t reach the heights, but it seemed that because we’d spent quite a bit of money they got it in the neck more.”

That is football. Fees create noise. Reputations create impatience. Liverpool paid heavily for players expected to improve the side immediately, and when that did not happen cleanly, criticism followed.

Robertson also added: “I think we’ve seen of Kerkez, Flo, even look at Isak this season he’s started really well. They’ll all be fine, I’ve got no doubt.”

Liverpool patience remains the sensible call

This is where the conversation should end. Not with blanket praise, and not with knee-jerk condemnation. Kerkez has underwhelmed in parts of his Liverpool career so far. He has also shown traits that suggest the ceiling remains high. Both are visible.

Robertson’s broader argument is that this season should effectively count as the real starting point for several of Liverpool’s recent arrivals. He said: “I’ve got so much sympathy in football terms to all the new signings, because they came into a team that was elite in everything we had done for years, and maybe we couldn’t be that because of what had happened [with Jota] and they then started getting quite a lot of criticism.

“And that’s why I think these lads will be absolutely fine at Liverpool. I would treat this season as their first season, that’s the way I would do it. Go, ‘okay, this is Kerkez’s first proper season, Florian Wirtz’s first, Alex Isak’s first season and let’s see how they get on.’ Then at the end of the season if they’re not up to it or whatever, but I would treat this as their first proper season.”

That sounds fair. In Kerkez’s case, the debate is not over whether there is a player there. There is. The question is whether Liverpool can now get the final-third version of him to match the defender. If they do, the noise around him will disappear quickly.