Following the signings of Justin Kluivert for £ 9.5 million from Roma and Romain Faivre from Olympique Lyonnais for a fee in the region of £ 13 million, the Cherries have now announced their third signing of the summer transfer window.
Hungary international Milos Kerkez joins the Cherries for an undisclosed fee from AZ Alkmaar signing a “long-term contract”.
He's here, #afcb fans 😍 pic.twitter.com/VqiB0HvICn
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) July 20, 2023
The fee according to Sky Sports is £ 14 million, plus a potential £1.5 million in add-ons.
The 19-year-old is a left-back, one of AFC Bournemouth’s key positions to fill following the departures of both Jordan Zemura and Matias Vina.
The Cherries had previously been linked with either a move to re-sign Vina or there had been rumours of an interest in Robin Gosens, however, AFC Bournemouth have instead been able to pull off somewhat of a coup with the signing of Milos Kerkez.
Bournemouth have signed 19-year-old left-back Milos Kerkez from AZ Alkmaar 🤝pic.twitter.com/wD8pJpeU2N
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) July 20, 2023
Kerkez is highly rated across Europe.
He came through the youth system at OFK Vrbas, the hometown club where he was born, but before he was even a teenager he made the move to Austrian side Rapid Wien.
In 2019 he made his move to Hungary, playing for Hódmezővásárhelyi Futball Club before a move to Győri ETO FC.
This period of his career proved to be pivotal to Kerkez, according to his profile on Wikipedia, Kerkez “decided to become a Hungarian international because he got a lot of help and support from his coaches and teammates in Győr”. He would go on to represent Hungary at Under-17 and Under-21 level.
Despite the clear connections that he had made with his adopted club in Hungary, in February 2021, he was signed by Italian Serie A side AC Milan, iconic left-back and Italy legend Paolo Maldini phoned Kerkez personally to convince him to make the move to AC Milan, an offer Kerkez obviously felt was impossible to turn down. But after almost a year of no first-team football, Kerkez left to join Dutch Eredivisie club AZ Alkmaar.
Within 7 months he had made his debut for Hungary (September 2022) aged just 18.
Overall Kerkez made 58 appearances in all competitions for club and country during the 2022/23 campaign, playing in the Eredivisie and UEFA Conference League for AZ Alkmaar and playing UEFA Nations League, UEFA 2024 European Championship qualifying and international friendlies for Hungary.
AFC Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake told afcb.co.uk…
“We are delighted to announce the signing of Milos, a talented young player with a great deal of potential.
“He was being tracked by a number of clubs in Europe but was very keen to join us after hearing about our plans and ambitions for the future.
“An athletic and attacking full-back, Milos will be an excellent addition to our exciting squad and we are looking forward to working with him.”
Your say…
AmericanAFCB said…
What an absolutely phenomenal signing. This boy is one of the biggest defender prospects in the world and he is coming to little old Bournemouth haha. Remember how people built him up during the Conference League and now will be on our left flank, just brilliant. – To join the conversation, click here.
