Liverpool

Slobodan Maricic
BBC Serbia journalist

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Both the past and future of Liverpool's new defender Milos Kerkez have been causing quite a stir in Serbia recently. And, as with all good stories, the two are closely intertwined.

The 21-year-old plays for Hungary, but he was born in Vrbas, a town in Serbia's northern autonomous province of Vojvodina, where his football journey began.

He started out at OFK Vrbas, before moving to nearby Kula to play for Hajduk 1912.

But his football education quickly took him abroad. In Austria, he joined Rapid Vienna, then moved on to Hungary, featuring for two clubs - the tongue-twisting Hodmezovasarhely and Gyor, where he began his senior career.

Then, at the start of 2021, while still a teenager, he received an unexpected phone call from Italy that any young player would dream of.

On the line was none other than Paolo Maldini, AC Milan legend and one of the greatest defenders ever, who was keen to persuade him to join the Rossoneri.

"You can't say no when Maldini calls," Kerkez said in a later interview.

However, with chances limited at Milan, he moved to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in 2022.

Given that he was born in Serbia, speculation around his future – particularly rumours linking him with a move from Bournemouth to Liverpool – caught Serbian media attention for weeks, but also raised one persistent question from the past: "Why isn't Kerkez playing for Serbia?"

The simple answer is that his paternal grandmother was Hungarian - a sizeable community in Vojvodina - and, according to Kerkez, she wanted him to represent Hungary.

He did just that, turning out for Hungary at under-17 and under-21 levels, breaking into the senior side in 2022, and earning a spot in their Euro 2024 squad.

But the issue resurfaced after recent comments by his father Sebastian in a podcast, claiming that the Serbian FA "didn't seem too serious" about Milos.

The Serbian FA quickly hit back, denying the lack of interest and saying they "did everything possible" to secure Milos for Serbia.

They even went on the counter-attack.

"Sebastian Kerkez openly told me," one Serbian FA official stated, "that Milos will join Hungary only because that is the easiest way for him and his wife to get Hungarian passports."

Hungary is in the EU and Serbia isn't.

And Milos Kerkez is in Liverpool.

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BBC Radio Merseyside spoke to Liverpool.com's Matt Addison about the Reds' Premier League fixtures after they were announced on Wednesday.

"I think Bournemouth is a good game to start with," Addison said, "I think it's always an advantage to start at home first and I think it's probably a good thing that Liverpool aren't playing one of the promoted teams.

"There's still going to be a lot of atmosphere for Liverpool and a lot of expectation with that but to be at home and to be against a team like Bournemouth, I suspect it might be an advantage to play them early in the season rather than a few weeks in.

"I think you can probably look at any run of fixtures in the Premier League and think there's one or two tricky ones in there or one or two that look tricky to Liverpool. But to have Bournemouth, Newcastle and Arsenal before that first international break is as tough as it would have got.

"A trip to Newcastle is never easy and Liverpool have always managed to make it a bit of a mad game one way or another in the past couple of seasons up at St James Park.

"So it's a tough run of fixtures but the flipside of that is that if they can get one or two wins in the early spell, that will put them in a really promising position."

Listen to the full chat on BBC Sounds

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Liverpool are advancing talks to sign defender Milos Kerkez for a fee of around £40m-£45m.

Sources with knowledge of the situation say that the talks have yet to complete but there is expectation from all parties that the Hungary left-back will soon move to Anfield on a long-term deal.

Bournemouth have already signed his replacement Adrien Truffert from Rennes.

Meanwhile, Kerkez's father was quoted as saying "personal terms have been agreed, we just need to sort out some details but that is basically a done deal" to Hungarian outlet Blic, external.

Kerkez started all 38 Premier League matches, contributing two goals and six assists for Bournemouth as they recorded their a club-record 56 points in the Premier League, finishing ninth in the process.

Kerkez has made 23 appearances for Hungary and previously played for Gyor and AZ Alkmaar while also having a spell at AC Milan without making a senior appearance.

The reigning Premier League champions have also agreed a £116m deal to sign Germany international Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.

Liverpool are prepared to smash the British transfer record to sign Newcastle and Sweden striker Alexander Isak, 25, this summer. (GiveMeSport), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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Goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros has signed a new contract with Liverpool and joined Ajax on loan for the 2025-26 season.

The 23 year-old, who made his Reds debut in October, is reuniting with former Liverpool assistant coach John Heitinga who is now the first-team coach at the Amsterdam club.

Jaros came through the Liverpool academy after arriving from Slavia Prague in 2017.

Image source, Getty Images

Following the release of the 2025-26 Premier League fixtures, we asked for your thoughts on Liverpool's schedule.

Here are some of your comments:

Mike: If the Reds get their transfer targets and they gel quickly with the rest of the team, then I think we will be league leaders after 10 games.

Fraser: The start is really difficult and the run-in with Everton and Manchester United thrown in there. Other than that, it's not too bad and evens out as the season goes on. The run from December and January is decent as well, a little kinder than previous years. Of course, they're all difficult fixtures but we handled them well last year. Once we get past the first 10 games it should be OK from there. Bring it on.

Shakeel: If we manage to resolve Ibrahima Konate's contract, bed in the new players and get a striker in, then we will look even stronger than last season. I would say top of the table after 10 games is a realistic goal.

Mark: Very tough opening month and the final set of games don't look great either to be honest. If we're going to retain the title this year, then it will be fully deserved.

Ken: An incredibly tough run of fixtures at the start and end of the season. Will have to win the title by the end of April again to avoid a potentially nervy finish!

Opta has ranked the difficulty of each top-flight team's first five Premier League fixtures of the 2025-26 season.

According to Opta's model, Manchester United have the hardest start, followed by their opening-weekend opponents Arsenal and then Bournemouth.

Aston Villa's first five games have been ranked the easiest, alongside Crystal Palace.

Take a look below to see where your side places...

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Fans have been warned by the Premier League that fixtures could be moved at "relatively short notice" next season because of the number of teams playing in Europe.

A record nine top-flight clubs have qualified for continental competition in the 2025-26 campaign.

The Premier League said there is an "increased likelihood" that games will be re-scheduled if English teams reach the latter stages and it suggested fans take this into consideration when planning their attendance at games.

Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham will be playing in the Champions League next season.

Aston Villa and Crystal Palace have qualified for the Europa League, while Nottingham Forest will be playing in the Conference League.

"While the Premier League celebrates this success, it will come with an impact on the scheduling of league matches," a statement from the Premier League said.

"There is an increased likelihood of Premier League fixtures moving at relatively short notice, after our fixture announcements, should our clubs progress to the knockout rounds of these competitions."

Andrew Bassett
BBC Sport data analyst

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We have seen a lot of traffic to our fixtures pages already today.

So far, Leeds United are the fourth most visited club fixtures page on BBC Sport.

Only Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are ahead of the Whites.

Newly promoted Sunderland also catch the eye inside the top 10 - and in case you were wondering, they are behind Newcastle United.

Aside from the first game of the season against Bournemouth and the final fixture against Brentford, all dates are subject to change as a result of broadcast and other requirements.

See Liverpool's full fixture list here

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Liverpool will be looking to maintain their strong recent derby record when they welcome to Everton to Anfield on the weekend of 20-21 September.

Arne Slot's defending champions are due to make their first trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium towards the end of the campaign, on the weekend of 18-19 April - looking to avenge the dramatic late draw in February's last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

In terms of the title race, the Reds face an early test with 2024-25 runners-up Arsenal visiting Anfield on the weekend of 30-31 August, with a trip to Manchester City at the start of November.

The Reds will face a midweek trip to the Emirates in early January, and Pep Guardiola's side come to Merseyside on the weekend of 7-8 February.

Old rivals Manchester United are due to come to Anfield on the weekend of 18-19 October, with Liverpool looking to pick up another Old Trafford victory on the weekend of 2-3 May in the return fixture late in the season.

And what about the schedule over Christmas and New Year? Well, Liverpool will face Tottenham, Wolves and Leeds over the festive period, before travelling to Fulham for their first game of 2026.

Finally, the Reds will close their campaign against Brentford at home on Sunday, 24 May 2026 - when all 10 matches will kick off at 16:00 BST.

Looking at the fixture list, where do you think Slot's side will be after 10 games? Have your say here

Liverpool will host Bournemouth in their opening game of the 2025-26 Premier League season.

The match will take place on Friday, 15 August at 20:00 BST, with the champions' first away fixture against Newcastle United on the weekend of 23-24 August.

See Liverpool's Premier League fixtures in full here

Where do you think the Reds will be after 10 games and what do you make of how the fixtures have fallen? Tell us here

Bayern Munich will target Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo if they miss out on Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams. (Sky Germany), external

Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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Over on our live page our chief football writer Phil McNulty has been taking your questions.

Lynne: Should Liverpool sell Curtis Jones?

Phil McNulty: There seems to be mixed opinions among Liverpool fans about Curtis Jones, but he does appear to be highly-rated by Arne Slot and England head coach Thomas Tuchel.

There is going to be some tough competition at Liverpool next season, especially once Florian Wirtz comes into the equation, so Jones will want plenty of game time with the World Cup coming up next summer.

This could be a big factor. I would be reluctant to sell, but Liverpool will want to recoup some of their lavish spending and there would be no shortage of takers should Jones come on the market.

The same will apply to Harvey Elliott, who has already hinted that he cannot afford to be sitting on the sidelines with a World Cup coming up.

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Liverpool's Andy Robertson has been linked with a move to Spain's Atletico Madrid, with Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez set to come in to take his place in the squad.

This week, the father of Kerkez told YouTube channel Super Indirektno:, external "It's only Liverpool for us and we're not going anywhere else and we won't talk to other clubs."

Robertson, 31, has won six major trophies on Merseyside and has the second highest tally of assists for a defender in the competition (60), only behind former Red Trent Alexander-Arnold (64).

However, after registering one assist last season, it can be suggested that it is the right time to move the Scotsman on.

Across the past three Premier League seasons Robertson's general attacking output has declined, with just the seven big chances created during Liverpool's title winning campaign in 2024-25, compared to double digit seasons in the two prior.

One of Liverpool's biggest problems last term was their ineffectiveness from corners, with 73% of them going into the box being given away to the opposition, and it can perhaps be explained by Robertson's big drop in corner accuracy.

Although, it can be argued that a defender's first port of call is defence and stats-wise he has generally stayed consistent in that area, with the 2023-24 season being a standout in tackles, duels and stopping attackers from getting through.

Robertson has had a very successful stint on Merseyside since joining from Hull City in 2017, and has a year left on his deal.

He has won everything, adding a second league title last season as Arne Slot's side comfortably claimed the Premier League. Robertson was still a big part of that, starting 33 of 38 games.

And though some fans might be ready to move on, at 31 the defender is willing to fight for his place.

"I'm not getting any younger - I can't change my age - but I still believe I've got a lot to give," Robertson told BBC Sport Scotland while on international duty last week.

"I still believe I have a hell of a lot to give for however many years I can keep going.

"My body feels good at the minute. I can't tell you how I'll feel at 33 or 34, but I can tell you, at 31, I feel excellent."

• Read more on Robertson's future

With his family settled in the city and his place as a club legend seemingly assured, moving away would be a big change.

Plus Robertson will probably have taken note of the acrimony around Trent Alexander-Arnold's recent exit for Real Madrid.

Those situations are not directly comparable given Alexander-Arnold is a local boy and academy product, who at 26 potentially has his peak years in front of him, and it was his departure on a free transfer that particularly rankled with many.

Nonetheless, whether Robertson is first choice or not at Liverpool next season, the club will have a big pull - especially given they would arguably want him to stay and compete with Kerkez for a starting berth across a long season on several fronts.

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As the transfer window is now open again until 1 September, we asked for you to tell us one player you want to bring to Liverpool and one player you want the club to sell.

Here are some of your comments:

Billy: I think we should sell Darwin and break the bank again for a world class striker like Julian Alvarez.

Ken: Sell Robertson. Sadly he is no longer the best fit for our ambitious plans. I would buy Alexander Isak - he is a classic number nine.

Ian: The obvious player to sell is Nunez because he has been an expensive flop and instead of searching through all the overpriced foreign strikers why don't Liverpool snap up Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa, he would be a perfect fit.

Jim: Sell Alisson. Mamardashvili is good enough for a team that won't often require a last line of defence. Cash in now, get the Saudi money. Buy Branthwaite. Liverpool's central defenders are always on the edge of injuries that rule them out. This is where the Saudi money gets reinvested in a top player to feature for the next five years.

Richard: Sorry Darwin, you haven't evolved into the player we all hoped you would. Nunez out, Julian Alvarez in!

Huw: Sell Jota - not scoring enough and is missing easy chances too often. Buy Jorrel Hato. Great talent who has a good future. Would love to see him play for us.

Liverpool have joined Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle in the race for Southampton and England Under-21s winger Tyler Dibling, 19. (CaughtOffside), external

Meanwhile, AC Milan and Napoli are both interested in Darwin Nunez, with the Reds valuing the striker at 60m euros (£51m). (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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No sooner does the season finish and we start looking forward to key dates for the next campaign - and that will be a lot easier to do on Wednesday when the Premier League fixtures are released.

That's right, that special day in the calendar is almost here already. The day when you'll learn details of derby fixtures, Christmas opponents and end-of-season run-ins.

This page will bring you all the fixtures when they drop at 09:00 BST on Wednesday and we'll be giving you the chance to have your say on how things look.

The new campaign kicks off on the weekend of Saturday, 16 August and it will conclude on Sunday, 24 May 2026, when all 10 games will take place at the same time.

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In Florian Wirtz, Liverpool have got "as close to a guarantee as you can get" that a player will be a success in the Premier League, says BBC Sport senior football correspondent Sami Mokbel.

It was reported on Friday that the Reds have agreed a £116m deal to sign Germany attacking midfielder Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, with the initial £100m fee a club record.

The 22-year-old made his debut for Leverkusen at the age of 17, scoring 57 goals in 197 games for the club, and helped them win the Bundesliga for the first time in 2024.

"He seems to have everything to cope with the rigors of European football," Mokbel told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"He might be quite short, but he looks strong, his touch is beautiful, he is great in transition, he takes the ball on the half turn, everything about him screams success - he will be a success in English football.

"There is never a guarantee with these things, you are spending a lot of money but there is never a cast-iron guarantee that a player from abroad with adapt to Premier League football.

"What I think Liverpool have got with Florian Wirtz is as close to a guarantee as you can get that a player will adapt to play in England and be a success. I think he is that good."

Wirtz is already one of the Bundesliga's top performers at the age of 22, largely operating as a number 10 - a dynamic playmaker blessed with pace, awareness and the ability to make clever decisions at high speed.

He was the most effective dribbler of all Bundesliga players last season, both in terms of volume and accuracy while carrying the ball.

Twenty-three of his 31 Bundesliga appearances in 2024-25 came in an attacking midfield/number 10 berth, although he does tend to drift towards the left wing.

"His best position, and the position that has been earmarked him for him in talks with Arne Slot, is that number 10 central role," German football expert Raphael Honigstein told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"In a slightly reshuffled Liverpool, more Dutch and more 'Arne Slot' team.

"He will be the fulcrum in attack. A player who can pick up spaces between the lines, has an eye for the killer ball but never loses sight of the goal. He can score goals himself and is very tenacious.

"A very modern number 10 and a player a lot of clubs wanted."

Listen to the full discussion with Mokbel on BBC Sounds

Read more about where Wirtz will fit into Liverpool's side

The transfer window is open again for summer business to be conducted.

Clubs can now strike deals until the deadline at 19:00 BST on 1 September.

So if you can sell one player, who is it? And if you can buy one player only, who gets the nod?

Give us reasons for your choice but remember, in this instance it's a strict one player leaving and one coming in.

Send your selections here

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If Milos Kerkez does join and bumps Andy Robertson down the pecking order, a switch to another Premier League club cannot be ruled out.

However, with Atletico prioritising him as their left-back target this summer, a move outside of the UK for the first time is on the table.

Robertson was asked about the benefits of playing abroad while on international duty last week, in reference to Scotland team-mates Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay, who won Serie A in their first season at Napoli.

"When these players play abroad they see a different way of playing and lifestyle," he said. "That can only help.

"Young lads coming through might now be thinking 'I want to go and try that'. That's credit to those lads stepping out of their comfort zone."

It will not have escaped Robertson's notice just how much of a hero McTominay now is in Naples after leading them to the Scudetto, while being named the league's best player.

No move guarantees success, but with Serie A and La Liga often described as a slightly slower pace week-to-week than the Premier League, a move abroad at 31 might give Robertson more years at the top.

Read more on Atletico's interest in Robertson