Milos Kerkez left AC Milan and is now making a name for himself in the Eredivisie, and the management might have some regret looking back at his exit.
La Gazzetta dello Sport recall how Kerkez was sold by Milan to AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands for a fee worth €2m in February of last year, but today his name is back in the headlines because some clubs are interested in signing him and Milan have a reason to watch developments closely.
Kerkez was actually born in Serbia in 2003, but he chose the Hungarian national team and today he is a more or less a guaranteed starter under Marco Rossi, who is their head coach. He actually played against Italy and more specifically came up against Di Lorenzo last September in the Nations League.
Before arriving at Milanello, he played for five years in Rapid Vienna’s youth sustem, passing a trial with a hundred participants. After that he moved to Gyori, which marked a return to his home country and he played 16 games for them in the second division.
A chat with Paolo Maldini turned his life upside down, as Kerkez himself admitted not too long after his exit when he spoke about feeling like he deserved a chance.
“When someone like Paolo calls you, you don’t think too much about what to do, but I expected to play a little more. After all, last year I was the best full-back in the Primavera,” he said.
He made 13 appearances in his first year in the Primavera, 19 in the second. The Rossoneri management had seen something good in him, but the presence of a world class player like Theo Hernandez made it impossible for him to get guaranteed game time.
“Theo is the best in that role, he’s my favourite. I learned everything I could from him,” Kerkez admitted.
Now, Kerkez is working under Pascal Jansen in Alkmaar, the man who launched Gianluca Scamacca among others during his time at PSV Eindhoven. His performances have grown thanks to the 40 appearances amassed in the first team, together with his value.
The radars of LaLiga, Primeira Liga and Bundesliga clubs have pointed towards him, with Real Sociedad and Benfica quickly adding to the interest of Borussia Dortmund.
Milan are on alert too because should an official offer arrive on the desk of AZ Alkmaar, Maldini and Massara will have the right to match it thanks to a clause, but there is already talk of around €15m.
This is an amount which – considering the budget and needs in other areas – means that Milan are likely to decline the chance to match the offer and will collect the percentage of proceeds from the eventual resale instead.
