Arne Slot responds to Liverpool's alleged interest in Milos Kerkez | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Arne Slot played down talk of a move for Milos Kerkez in the aftermath of his side's 2-0 win over Bournemouth, but did admit the Hungarian full-back is "having a great season".

The Reds successfully navigated their in-form opponents on Saturday, walking away from the Vitality Stadium with all three points thanks to Mohamed Salah's 20th and 21st Premier League goals of the season.

Victory put Slot's Liverpool nine points clear at the top of the table, continuing the exceptional form that saw them climb to the summit of the revamped Champions League, and they are now many people's favourites to go on and win the title in the Dutchman's first season at the helm.

While Liverpool's form as a whole has been terrific, there are question marks over the futures of a number of players. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are all out of contract in the summer, with extensions yet to be agreed, and Andrew Robertson's performances at left-back have occasionally been scrutinised for falling below the high standards he'd previously set.

Kerkez has been a prominent figure in Bournemouth's terrific season, with speculation rife that he's a major transfer target heading into the summer. But speaking to the media post-match, Slot dampened talk of a potential move while acknowledging just how well the 21-year-old, signed from AZ Alkmaar in 2023, has been performing.

"He’s playing over here, he's having a great season, as many, many other players are here as well," Slot said. "It shows you probably how good of a manager you have, and what a great sports director you had, or still have, I don’t know how the one is doing now, he brought in very good players and this manager works with them in an incredible way because he brings the best out of every single player, including the one you just mentioned.

"But I'm not talking about an individual, they are all bringing the best out of their game at the moment."

On being able to overcome Bournemouth on their own turf, the former Feyenoord boss added: "If you want to win here against a team that is so competitive then you need a team performance and work-rate.

"That's what we have and you need some quality individuals that make the difference for you and that goal of Mo [Salah] was absolute quality and the saves Alisson made as well. But it was not only them, the way our centre-backs were defending again today was also impressive."