Liverpool's Left-Back Dilemma: Kerkez Under Scrutiny
Liverpool’s summer of change never quite became the overhaul many expected. Names came in – Ronald Araujo, Bradley Barcola among them – but when the window shut, only four new faces had actually walked through the door.
For a club coming off one of their poorest seasons in recent memory under Arne Slot, it felt strangely restrained.
Andoni Iraola’s arrival in the dugout is meant to be the real reset button. His ideas, his energy, his edge. Yet Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night was a reminder that coaching alone won’t fix everything. The squad still has fault lines. One of the clearest is at left-back.
Kerkez under the microscope
Last summer, Liverpool threw more than £450 million at the transfer market. Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz were the headline acts, the big statements. On paper, it looked bold. On the pitch, it unravelled.
The team lost direction and bite, limping to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League. Slot paid with his job, but the legacy of that scattergun window still hangs over Anfield.
Milos Kerkez was one of those bets on the future – signed to grow into Andy Robertson’s role and eventually take the shirt for good. Slot rated him highly and wanted the Hungarian as his first choice. Reality cut through that plan quickly. Robertson, even in the latter stages of his Liverpool career, remained the better performer and kept starting.
Some supporters even wondered if the club might extend the Scotsman’s deal, such was his continued importance.
That didn’t happen. Instead, Kostas Tsimikas returned to Anfield to back up Kerkez. The message was clear: the 22-year-old would be trusted to step up.
Then came Atletico.
Under the lights, against elite movement and ruthless decision-making, Kerkez looked exactly what he is – a talented but raw full-back still learning the hardest part of his trade. His positioning wavered, his concentration dipped, and Liverpool paid for it.
He switched off at a key moment, allowing Marcos Llorente to escape him and punish the Reds. One lapse, one run not tracked, and the ball was in the net. For a side trying to close the gap to the very best, that kind of error at left-back is brutal.
A problem Liverpool can’t park until summer
Liverpool’s squad still has several obvious weak points. The starting XI, as it stands, doesn’t match the ambition of a club that talks about titles and deep European runs. If the January window comes and goes without movement, they risk watching their rivals disappear over the horizon.
Transfer talk has already started to swirl. Ben Jacobs has even floated the idea that Liverpool could look to replace Alexis Mac Allister in 2027. That’s long-term planning.
But the left side of defence is a far more immediate concern.
Kerkez’s display against Atletico didn’t just feel like a bad night; it felt like a warning. If this is the level across a long season, Liverpool will be constantly firefighting down that flank. Fans are unlikely to tolerate many more erratic showings before the calls for reinforcements grow louder.
All summer, the club were linked with alternative left-backs. Those rumours now look less like background noise and more like a missed opportunity. Come January, the pressure to act will be intense.
Kerkez offers plenty going forward. As a wing-back, his energy and attacking instincts make sense. In a back three, with extra cover behind him, his weaknesses are easier to mask. But Iraola is set on a back four. That system demands a defender who reads danger early, manages distances, and doesn’t switch off when the ball is on the opposite side.
Right now, Liverpool need someone more defensively mature than a 22-year-old still learning on the job.
The message from Wednesday night was stark: if this team is serious about climbing back to the top, their next big decision at Anfield may not be about a forward, a midfielder, or even a centre-back.
It might have to be the left-back.
