# Milos Kerkez

Milos Kerkez (Serbian Cyrillic: Милош Керкез, romanized: Miloš Kerkez; born 7 November 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back or left wing-back for Premier League club Bournemouth. Born in Serbia, he plays for the Hungary national team.

## Club career

Kerkez joined Austrian side Rapid Wien in 2014, and played there until 2019.

### Győr

In 2020, he was signed by Nemzeti Bajnokság II club Győri ETO FC. In an interview with scoutedftbl.com, Kerkez said that during his period at Győr he decided to become a Hungarian international because he got a lot of help and support from his coaches and teammates in Győr.

### AC Milan

On 2 February 2021, he was signed by Serie A giant Milan. Paolo Maldini phoned him a couple of days before the end of the transfer season in order to persuade him to join Milan. Kerkez said in an interview with Nemzeti Sport that "You cannot say no when Maldini calls you." As a result, he decided to leave Győr and join Milan. On 17 July 2021, Kerkez played his first match with the senior team in a training match against Pro Sesto 1913. However, he was not given enough opportunity; therefore, he decided to leave AC Milan in 2022.

### AZ

On 29 January 2022, he was signed by Eredivisie club AZ Alkmaar. On 19 May 2022, he played his first match for AZ against SC Heerenveen at the Abe Lenstra Stadion, Heerenveen, the Netherlands. The match ended with a 3-2 win for Heerenveen and Kerkez was substituted in the 77th minute. On 14 August 2022, he scored his first goal in the Eredivisie against Sparta Rotterdam at the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel, Rotterdam in the 2022–23 Eredivisie season. The match was won by AZ 3–2 and Kerkez scored the winning goal in the 77th minute. According to Nemzeti Sport, S.L. Benfica showed interest in purchasing him, however, the Portuguese club did not want to pay €20 million for him.

### Bournemouth
#### 2023–24 season

On 20 July 2023, Kerkez was signed by Premier League club Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee. He impressed the manager against friendlies with Southampton, Atalanta, and Lorient; therefore, he was soon included in the starting line-up. On 12 August, he made his debut against West Ham United in a 1–1 home draw on the first matchday of the 2023–24 Premier League. He was sent off against Wolverhampton Wanderers and he had to miss three matches. Although the club appealed against his red card, the FA rejected it.

#### 2024–25 season

He was voted for the best player of August at Bournemouth. On 3 November 2024, he gave two assists, one to Antione Semenyo and another one to Evanilson, in a 2-1 victory over Manchester City. On 30 November 2024, he scored his first goal for Bournemouth in a 4-2 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers. His goal was voted for the best goal in November at Bournemouth. On 4 January 2025, he gave an assist to Brooks in a 1-0 victory over Everton in the 2024–25 Premier League season. On 18 January 2025, he scored a goal in a 4-1 victory over Newcastle United at St James' Park in the 96th minute in the 2024–25 Premier League season.

## International career

Kerkez was eligible to play for both the Hungary and Serbia national teams. He represented Hungary at both under-17 and under-21 level, before being called up to the Hungary senior team in June 2022, when he was named on the substitutes bench for a 2022–23 UEFA Nations League match against England. On 23 September 2022, Kerkez made his first appearance for Hungary, playing the full match at left wing-back as the team beat Germany 1–0 in Leipzig.
On 16 November 2023, he received a red card in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against Bulgaria. However, his expulsion did not affect negatively the outcome of the match since Hungary qualified for the UEFA Euro 2024. In an interview, Hungarian captain Szoboszlai said that Kerkez "was told in three distinct languages not to do anything stupid" during the match against Bulgaria.
On 14 May 2024, Kerkez was named in Hungary's squad for UEFA Euro 2024. In Hungary's opening match of the tournament against Switzerland, he played 79 minutes before being substituted for Martin Ádám as the team were beaten 3–1 in Cologne. In doing so, he became the youngest player to make an appearance for Hungary at a UEFA European Championship since Zoltán Varga and Ferenc Bene played in the 1964 third-place play-off. He went on to start against both Germany and Scotland as Hungary finished third in Group A.

## Personal life

He said in an interview, published by Nemzeti Sport, that both his Serbian father and his Hungarian grandmother wanted him to choose to represent Hungary.
Kerkez was born in Vrbas, Serbia. He speaks Serbian, Hungarian, English and German.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 15 March 2025
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Győr | 2020–21 | NB II | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | 0 |
| AC Milan | 2021–22 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Jong AZ | 2021–22 | Eerste Divisie | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | 0 |
| AZ | 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| AZ | 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 33 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 | — | — | 52 | 5 |
| AZ | Total | Total | 33 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 5 |
| Bournemouth | 2023–24 | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 33 | 0 |
| Bournemouth | 2024–25 | Premier League | 29 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 32 | 2 |
| Bournemouth | Total | Total | 57 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 65 | 2 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 115 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 149 | 7 |
* ↑ Includes Magyar Kupa, KNVB Cup, FA Cup
* ↑ Includes EFL Cup
* ↑ Appearances in Eredivisie European play-offs
* ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

### International

    As of match played 10 September 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Hungary | 2022 | 4 | 0 |
| Hungary | 2023 | 9 | 0 |
| Hungary | 2024 | 8 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 21 | 0 |