Man City chasing one of the world’s “most talented LBs”

Manchester City’s major squad rebuild continues.

After Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico González, Vitor Reis and Juma Bah all joined in January, at the cost of around £180m, more big-money signings are expected to be arriving at the Etihad this summer.

So, get excited Man City fans, one of the most talented left-backs in world football could be on his way.

Manchester City’s first-choice left-back target

According to a report by Lyall Thomas and Mark McAdam of Sky Sports News, Manchester City are “interested” in a move for Bournemouth left-back Miloš Kerkez, with Liverpool and Real Madrid also mentioned as clubs that are in the running.

After a very impressive season by the South Coast, the Hungarian international is widely-expected to move this summer, and is valued at £45m, according to a report by Gary Jacob of the Times, although a bidding war could see that price-tag increase.

So, could the 21-year-old be on his way to Manchester?

How Miloš Kerkez would improve Manchester City

As alluded to earlier, Kerkez has been a standout performers this season, with Matt Furniss of Opta’s the Analyst describing him as ‘one of the hottest properties’ in world football right now, adding that he’ll soon become ‘one of the best full-backs in Europe’.

Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout agrees, describing him as “one of the most talented left-backs in world football”, so let’s assess his statistics.

Statistics	Kerkez	PL rank
Miloš Kerkez 2024/25 Premier League statistics
Minutes	2,897	16th
Goals	2	120th
Assists	5	31st
Progressive carries	89	28th
Progressive passes	141	24rd
Passes attempted	1141	52nd
Key passes	30	64th
Crosses into the area	22	3rd
Shot-creating actions	74	51st
% of dribblers tackled	61.1%	49th
Blocks	33	47th
Interceptions	38	17th
Clearances	100	33rd
Ball recoveries	148	23rd
All statistics courtesy of FBref.com

As outlined in the table, Kerkez ranks highly for most metric across the board, with his attacking statistics particularly impressive, considering he is a full-back.

Only Antonee Robinson and Pedro Pedro have accumulated more than Kerkez’s 22 crosses into the penalty area, helping the Hungarian international rack up five assists, two of which came during a 2-1 victory over Manchester City in November.

So, how would he fit into Man City’s team?

Well, Pep Guardiola has deployed numerous players on the left-wing so far this season, including Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Savinho, Bernardo Silva and Marmoush, but Jérémy Doku has always appeared to be the most natural fit for this position.

The Belgian was in the headlines on Tuesday night, assisting Matheus Nunes’ last-gasp winner against Aston Villa with a sensational, impudent trivela cross that was tucked home at the back post.

Alex Keble told the Premier League that Doku’s introduction changed the game, as a result of his direct dribbling and maverick energy, something such a tactical chess match required.

Meantime, Guardiola stated on Saturday that it was “‘so unfair” that Doku had not been starting more frequently, with this the fourth successive fixture in which he’d been utilised off the bench.

The Belgian ranks second in the Premier League for attempted take-ons this season, as well as first for both successful take-ons and progressive carries, registering at least 38 more of the latter than anybody else, all according to FBref.com.

A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.

Thus, with a high-quality, reliable and consistent left-back in Kerkez behind him, we could finally see the best of Doku on a regular basis, should the pair link-up in sky blue.