Dominik Szoboszlai's message to Milos Kerkez could fuel speculation that Liverpool are making a move for the Bournemouth star.
Kerkez had a brilliant Saturday, scoring in Bournemouth's impressive 4-1 win over Newcastle at St James' Park. Newcastle came into the match on the back of nine straight wins, but were defeated by a worn Cherries side, who put in a standout performance to leave with three points.
Justin Kluivert stole the headlines with a hat-trick, but the win was crowned by Kerkez's thundering finish in the 96th minute. The left back celebrated this by taking off his shirt and enjoying his team's best performance of the season.
Kerkez posted a photo of his celebration on Instagram with the caption “I'm talking on the pitch” – a possible hint at recent transfer speculation. The 21-year-old has been linked with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United due to his performances, but the links with the former are particularly intriguing.
Szoboszlai replied to his Hungarian teammate with “Yes, my son”, and a red love heart emoji, with his comment standing out among others from Bournemouth players Kepa Arrizabalaga, James Hill, Ryan Christie, Illia Zabarnyi, Marcus Tavernier, Alex Scott, Evanilson and Dean Huijsen.
Liverpool are looking to sign a left-back amid concerns over a dip in performance from Andy Robertson and the news reported on Friday that they have contacted Kerkez's representatives. They could also have an advantage as director of football Richard Hughes is the man who brought Kerkez to England during his time at Bournemouth.
Kerkez has now provided two goals and three assists in 22 Premier League appearances this season and has been a standout performer for Andoni Iraola's side. Saturday's win moved them up to sixth in the Premier League, with a 10-match unbeaten run giving them plenty to brag about.
Bournemouth have no plans to cash in on Kerkez in the January transfer window, despite signing left-back Julio Soler from Lanus for an initial fee of around £6.6m, which could rise to £11.5m if all add-on clauses are met.
Iraola was full of praise for his side after their stunning win on Saturday. “It's hard to find a better win, it's very difficult,” he said. “We came into this game very thin and everyone played their part and then some. As a manager you feel very proud.
“We have very young players – centre-backs and a left-back and Lewis Cook playing out of position – and we are dealing with top players. They were fantastic. I was worried about getting in because the difficulty of the game is very hard. They fly. I was very confident because of the second half performance at Chelsea. I saw how we deal with the difficult situation. We have been very good.”
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