Hamann ‘didn’t like what he saw’ from one Liverpool star in win over Arsenal
Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann reckons new signing Milos Kerkez must improve his defending to stay in the team at Anfield.
The Reds have a perfect record so far this season with three wins from their opening three matches against Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Arsenal.
Arne Slot’s 2024/25 Premier League champions are back to the top of the table despite getting a bit lucky along the way to their three victories.
Liverpool boss Slot is trying to bed in six new signings, excluding two new back-up goalkeepers, with Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giovanni Leoni and Alexander Isak all joining over the summer.
Kerkez, who signed from Bournemouth fairly early in the transfer window, has been picked out by ex-Liverpool midfielder Hamann for underperforming in their win over Arsenal on Sunday.
Hamann told Adventure Gamers: “Andy Robertson was unlucky on a couple of occasions last season and the club brought in someone else, which is fair enough.
“Kerkez started a bit edgily against Arsenal, but in the second half, he started playing better and seemed to settle down.
“He made a couple of good tackles against Noni Madueke. We’ll have to wait and see, but Robertson is always an option.
“Milos Kerkez isn’t the quickest. It’ll be interesting to see how he performs in the next few weeks because every time the ball was played over the top, they looked dangerous.
“It was the same against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace. He needs to improve his defending. He’s only 21, so we’ll have to wait and see.
“He’s certainly good going forward, but his primary job is to defend, and in the first half against Arsenal, I didn’t like what I saw in a couple of situations.”
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Another former Liverpool player, Jamie Carragher, also singled out Kerkez for criticism with the Sky Sports pundit hoping the left-back tones down his aggression this summer as he is too keen to “win every tackle, even every header”.
Carragher said on The Overlap: “Milos Kerkez is too aggressive. He feels like he needs to win every tackle, even every header.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to put the brakes on but I’m hoping that will come with age – he’s only 21. I’m seeing him go for headers on the halfway line where if you go into the back of someone, you’re going to give a foul away.”
