Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez: ‘Everything has changed quickly. It’s a bit crazy’

Hungarian defender is, like his club, a bundle of energy with grand ambitions – and he wants to build a lake

A broad smile unravels on Milos Kerkez’s babyface as he watches a clip of himself doing what he probably does best: putting his body on the line for the cause, in this case his previous club, AZ. It was May last year, deep into a 3-0 Eredivisie win at Nijmegen, when the ball squirted free after he executed an expert slide tackle on the touchline. Having gone to ground, Kerkez was surely at a disadvantage to beat Anthony Musaba to the punch?

“My teammate Tijjani Reijnders went: ‘No, no!’ I was like: ‘I have to do something,’” says the Bournemouth defender. So Kerkez, on his backside, scrambles towards the ball, throwing his body at it, twirling mid-air like a commando, to block and retain possession. “I wanted to hit it with my head but it came off my back. I mean, it’s still a good tackle, no?”

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