Liverpool agree €47m fee for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez
By Carl Markham, PA
Liverpool are set to take their summer spending to £185 million after agreeing a £40 million (€47 million) fee for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez.
The move has been touted for some time, with the Cherries holding out for £45 million (€53 million), but the PA news agency understands a compromise has been reached which will see the defender make the move to Anfield.
Kerkez, 21, is viewed as the long-term successor to Andy Robertson. The Scotland international, who is in the final year of his contract, is a target for Atletico Madrid but Liverpool will not force him out the door.
Hungary international Kerkez will be the third signing of the close season, with Jeremie Frimpong already on board and his Bayer Leverkusen team-mate Florian Wirtz finalising the details of a potential British record £116 million (€136 million) deal after flying into Merseyside for a medical on Thursday.
With Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Marmadasvili set to join the squad when they reconvene next month, with a deal having been done with Valencia 12 months ago, head coach Arne Slot will have £215 million (€251 million) of new talent available for the defence of their Premier League title.
And the incomings may not be finished there as, with Leverkusen interested in 22-year-old fourth-choice centre-back Jarell Quansah in a £34 million (€40 million) deal entirely separate to the one sending Wirtz in the opposite direction, Liverpool will be on the look-out for another central defender.
Crystal Palace’s England international Marc Guehi, who has a year left on his contract, is a player the club have been interested in but there will be other contenders for his signature.
