Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has backed Liverpool to win the battle for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez this summer.

The Hungarian international has also been linked with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea over the past few months, but writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson said:

“Liverpool have basically signed two £100 million-worth players with the renewals of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk. They are basically the best players in the world in their respective positions.”

“Liverpool now need a new left-back and I expect them to get Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth, which will sort out their business for the summer.”

The defender has a sizeable asking price

It is believed that a bid of between £40m and £45m may be needed to secure Kerkez’s services, which is a significant sum for a player who only cost £15.5m when he joined Bournemouth from AZ Alkmaar at the start of last season.

However, Kerkez has impressed many with his performances this campaign. Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher described the fullback as a “revelation” at the end of last year and even urged his former team to make a move for the player during the January transfer window.

Kerkez is not the only Bournemouth player Liverpool want

Reliable journalists, including Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein, have confirmed that Arne Slot’s side are interested in snapping up Dean Huijsen.

The Spanish international has a £50m release clause in his contract. There were suggestions earlier this week that Chelsea were leading the race for the centre-back.

However, subsequent reports have contradicted those claims, indicating Huijsen has yet to make up his mind which club he will join. It is thought that Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal have all held talks with the 19-year-old’s representatives in recent days.

Click here to see Liverpool’s first team squad for the 2024/25 season