Liverpool learn asking price of key transfer target Milos Kerkez | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has reportedly approved a move for in-form Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez, with the Hungary international likely to cost below £40m.

The Reds, who are 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League table after Arsenal's slip-up at Manchester United, are expected to bolster in defence this summer amid doubts over the performance levels of Andy Robertson.

Understudy Kostas Tsimikas has also been linked with a move away from Anfield at the end of the season, potentially heightening the need for Slot to sign a new left-back.

Kerkez has been touted as a possible target for Liverpool for months, owing to his impressive form for high-flying Bournemouth, and Fabrizio Romano reports that Slot has given his approval to a move for the 21-year-old as part of a three-player transfer shortlist.

Liverpool's interest is described as "genuine and concrete" and contact is expected to be made in the coming weeks over a potential switch to Merseyside.

Bournemouth aren't thought to have finalised their price tag for a player they signed in July 2023 for an undisclosed fee in the region of £15m, but the belief is that Kerkez could be available for anywhere between £33.6m and £37.8m – more simplistically between €40m and €45m.

Such a fee could be interpreted as a bargain in the current transfer climate, with prices continuing to rise for Premier League players over the past few years. Kerkez has been one of the division's top performers this season and still has three years left on his contract.

The left-back was recently quizzed on Liverpool's interest in a summer deal, and while he tried his best to distance himself from the speculation, Kerkez did hint that he'd be willing to take his talents to the Carabao Cup finalists.