Why Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez is a transfer target for Liverpool, Man City and Real Madrid – The Radar

Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:

💪 Kerkez mixing power and precision
💥 Fullkrug’s West Ham home truths
🐺 Munetsi key to Wolves improvement?
🔎 A player to watch this weekend

Powerhouse Kerkez is in-demand

There will be eyes on Milos Kerkez when Bournemouth face Manchester United on Super Sunday. The left-back is in-demand having emerged as a target for Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid this week. It comes as no surprise after a superb campaign.

Kerkez showed his potential in patches following his arrival from AZ Alkmaar last season but his development has accelerated in the new campaign. The 21-year-old has played more minutes than any other Bournemouth player. Encouraged to push higher up by Andoni Iraola, he has has produced two goals and five assists.

Those numbers, up from a solitary assist last term, are a result of taking on greater responsibility offensively. Kerkez is having more touches and making more passes. They are coming in more advanced areas, too. He is crossing more and creating more.

Iraola has highlighted his improved decision-making. “He is adding quality to his deliveries,” said the Bournemouth boss last month. “He is more calm when he arrives.”

That new-found composure is a welcome addition given the physical qualities he already possesses. Kerkez is an exceptional athlete, his speed and stamina evident in the fact he ranks among the Premier League’s top 10 players this season for distance covered and sprints. Only 15 players have carried the ball further.

His boundless energy ensures constant support for his winger, most commonly Antoine Semenyo or Dango Ouattara, whether it be on the outside or the inside. Kerkez ranks second in the Premier League for overlapping runs this season and top for underlapping runs.

The variety of runs makes Kerkez more difficult to defend against for Bournemouth’s opponents and it is little wonder, given how much he offers in his position, that Iraola has constructed his attack around him. Bournemouth direct a higher percentage of attacks down their left flank than any other Premier League side.

Kerkez is a major threat when crossing from near the byline, as shown with his assists for David Brooks and Semenyo against Everton and Manchester City respectively earlier this season.

But he can also deliver diagonally from deeper areas, as he did with his stunning cross for Marcus Tavernier’s opener in Bournemouth’s 2-2 draw with Spurs in March, following an interception and a driving run up the flank which highlighted, together with the delivery, his unique blend of power and precision.

His shot assist map shows a roughly even split between those two scenarios, storming to the byline and crossing from further back, and further illustrates his appeal to Europe’s elite.

A move to Liverpool may seem the most logical next step given his stylistic similarities to the ageing Andrew Robertson and the influence of their sporting director Richard Hughes, who signed him for Bournemouth. But Kerkez has options.

Sunday’s game is another chance to show why.

Potter rebukes Fullkrug but he had a point

Graham Potter was disapproving of Niclas Fullkrug’s outspoken interview following West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Southampton last Saturday. “I don’t think it’s helpful to the club,” he said. But the striker’s candidness was refreshing. It might just be the kick up the backside his team-mates need.

It was difficult to argue with his assessment of where they went wrong in letting yet another lead slip. Fullkrug lamented Alphonse Areola’s decision to send his passes long after Jarrod Bowen’s 47th-opener and the change of emphasis can be seen in his pass maps.

Fullkrug also expressed his anger at how West Ham sank back after their goal. “It was difficult to bring the boys back to push up,” he added. Again, his assertion was accurate. Their average positions were notably deeper after the break as the team became stretched.

The result was that, instead of securing what should have been a comfortable win, West Ham gave the Premier League’s bottom side a foothold. The match momentum chart below shows their late equaliser, scored by Lesley Ugochukwu, had been coming.

Potter felt Fullkrug’s views should have been kept in-house. Others argued he was speaking out of turn following an injury-hit season in which he has only managed four Premier League starts.

But the 32-year-old, a Champions League finalist with Borussia Dortmund only last year, was signed to help raise standards. Maybe airing some home truths was part of that.

‘Infiltration player’ Munetsi catching the eye

Wolves host Leicester on Saturday on a run of five consecutive Premier League victories. Their excellent form has a lot to do with Marshall Munetsi, a £16m January signing who has helped Vitor Pereira’s side win six of the eight games he has started.

Will Still, Munetsi’s former manager at Reims, praised his impact on Monday Night Football this week, describing the midfielder as an “infiltration player” and using his goal in last month’s 1-1 draw with Everton to highlight the quality of his runs into the box from deep.

That goal against Everton remains his standout moment for Wolves but the off-the-ball running that led to the opportunity has become a feature of their play under Pereira.

According to tracking data from GeniusIQ, Munetsi’s average of 32.33 runs per 90 minutes is the third-highest among Premier League players this season.

His movement has made him an invaluable attacking outlet for Wolves but his runs are not just a means of putting himself in scoring positions. Just as importantly, they serve to create space for his team-mates in and around the opposition box.

Pereira has highlighted his role in bringing the best out of Jorgen Strand Larsen, who has scored five goals in six starts alongside him. “Munetsi now plays close to him, opens the space for him and helps him to play and attack the space,” said the Wolves boss.

The striker is not the only player to have benefited either.

In the images below, from Wolves’ 2-1 win over Ipswich on April 5, Munetsi runs at Cameron Burgess as soon as Joao Gomes receives the ball, occupying Ipswich’s left-sided centre-back and giving Gomes the space he needs to unleash a shot which strikes the post.

Sometimes, Munetsi’s runs serve both purposes in one.

In the example below, from Wolves’ 1-0 win at Bournemouth on February 22, Munetsi’s movement pulls right-back Lewis Cook away from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who has space to receive Strand Larsen’s pass then produce a low cross from which Munetsi himself fires wide when he should score.

The only frustration, nine games into his Premier League career, is that Munetsi’s goal tally is not higher. His finishing has been erratic but the value added by his off-the-ball runs is clear. His January arrival, together with that of his former Reims team-mate Emmanuel Agbadou, has helped make Wolves a better team.

Player Radar: Who else to keep an eye on

Harvey Elliott is likely to be among the substitutes again when Liverpool aim to clinch the title against Tottenham on Super Sunday but he continues to impress in cameos and merits more playing time, be it at Anfield or elsewhere.

Live Radar: What’s on Sky this weekend?

Super Sunday starts with Bournemouth’s game against Man Utd, live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 1pm ahead of the 2pm kick-off.

Then it’s off to Anfield for Liverpool’s potential Premier League title party as they host Tottenham knowing a win would clinch the crown. That game kicks off at 4.30pm.

Read last time’s Radar column

Can the 32-year-old Mohamed Salah continue his extraordinary scoring feats? The Radar weighed up the evidence following news of his new contract at Liverpool. There was also a look at Brentford’s pioneering work on set-pieces before their meeting with dead-ball specialists Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.