Report: Liverpool think they’ve just secured ‘exceptional’ star as their first summer signing for Arne Slot

Regardless of Liverpool’s recent cup disappointments, Arne Slot deserves endless credit for what he’s achieving in his first season at Anfield.

In the summer, Liverpool effectively only recruited Federico Chiesa from Juventus – Giorgi Mamardasvili also signed for the club but he remained on loan at Valencia.

And when considering that Chiesa has only made 11 appearances for the Reds, Slot has essentially built a title-winning side by merely sculpting the squad that Jurgen Klopp left.

That being said, Richard Hughes and his transfer team will be looking to change that reality this summer, especially in wake of Real Madrid’s move for Trent Alexander-Arnold.

And it should be noted that Slot is willing to sell Chiesa too – Liverpool will be on the offensive in a few months time.

Liverpool have won the battle to sign Milos Kerkez from Bournmeouth

With that in mind, The Sun are now reporting that Liverpool believe that they’ve already secured their first signing of the summer in the form of Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez.

The report says that Liverpool have ‘won’ the battle to sign Kerkez for £50m, a deal that is now ‘nailed down’. 

READ MORE: Arne Slot is actually ready to sell ‘brilliant’ Liverpool player but FSG want to keep him

Bournemouth have been willing to sell Kerkez for the right price this summer, and these new reports would suggest that a breakthrough has been made. 

Of course, Kerkez arriving at Anfield would question Andy Robertson’s long-term position under Slot.

It seems unlikely that all three of Kerkez, Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas would be competing for next season’s left-back role.

Therefore, one of Liverpool’s long-term servants under Klopp might find an exit, a situation that is likely to be sorted were Kerkez to actually walk through the door at Kirkby.

Andrew Robertson’s diminishing attacking threat at Liverpool

At 31-years-old, there does appear to be some decline in Robertson’s game at Anfield, a player who has been a tremendous servant for Liverpool.

The Scot has amassed 336 appearances for Liverpool after joining from Hull City in 2017, however, his attacking numbers are starting to decrease season by season.

In comparison, 21-year-old Kerkez has been ‘exceptional’ this season and scored two goals and provided six assists for Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Perhaps the perfect solution would be to move Tsimikas on in the summer with Robertson sticking around to dovetail with and mentor Kerkez.

Either way, the Hungarian’s arrival should mark the start of an incredibly exciting summer on Merseyside.