Looking at him now, it might seem that success came to him in an instant. However, Milos Kerkez’s journey to becoming a professional footballer is not a story of instant success. It is all about discipline and dedication to overcome challenges. The Bournemouth star was born in Vrbas in Serbia on 7th November 2003. He was raised in a modest household and always had a passion for football from a young age.
Other than football, he spent his time fishing and enjoying the calmness of the Serbian countryside as he grew up on a farm. At the age of 12, he moved to Hungary, which pretty much started his football journey in earnest. His decision to join Puskas Akademia’s youth system kick-started his career.
One of the best things that happened to the young star during that time is that his family was never hesitant with the youngster’s decision. Their influence on his life cannot be understated. In every step of Milos’s journey, his family is there for him. From making the debut for AZ Alkmaar to making the move to the Premier League, their support has been immense for the Hungarian wing back and he never hesitated to appreciate that.
Milos Kerkez, the young Hungarian left-back back has made quite a stir in the European transfer market with his performances for Bournemouth. Fullbacks as a position is one of the most complicated in football, as it involves the practice of synchronization of both attacking and defensive aspects of the game. Milo Kerkez has emerged as a highly sought-after prospect despite this strict criterion due to his impressive physicality, tenacity and deep understanding of the game. Milo is a player with a low center of gravity, which allows him to track attackers through the length of the pitch without committing to hasty challenges. He waits for the perfect moment before attempting to snatch the ball through either an interception or a sturdy sliding tackle. He averages 7.47 defensive actions per game, recording a staggering 60 percent success rate in his defensive duels. However, his defensive prowess is not just limited to this, as, except for immediate situations, he also unravels the bigger picture in the field of play quite smoothly. He is often left as the last man during opponents' counters, where he remains calm and uses his agility and nippiness to intercept 1-2's and line-breaking through balls.
This is not just brought about by Milos Kerkez's natural talent, moreover, the pride that he takes in defending for his team and his immense concentration during the match contribute to his brilliant defensive stats. The Milos package, however, does not end here, as although less preached about, his attacking prowess is stellar in itself. Milos is an aggressive runner who always provides an overlapping run to his winger, despite also marking the opponent winger in attacking transitions. He is not just an extra man on the flanks; he can easily maneuver his body to get out of tight situations or use his creative left foot to supply runners in the box with whipped and driven through balls. His main weapon on the flanks, however, is his crosses, which he delivers at a rate of 3.7 crosses per 90 with about 30 percent accuracy. An attribute that makes him stand out is that before crossing, he gets his head up and delivers with the intent of finding a particular runner in the box. His crossing arsenal contains early crosses to take the opponent backline by surprise, cut-backs in the zone-10 area for runners to hit first time and deep crosses chipped towards the far post for late runners in the box.
The one clear weakness in his player profile is his heading ability. However, as he is matched up against wingers who themselves aren't necessarily heading titans, his tenacity and pestering more than make up for it. Despite being on the shorter side, he challenges for every ball in the air in his vicinity, although he can sometimes be physically bullied in the air, but his surprisingly impressive leap does not let the attackers receive the ball lazily. Milos, thus, may not be a generational full-back yet but he has all the fundamentals to become a world-class performer for a top European side.