Bournemouth youngster Milos Kerkez was always destined for the top at some point, with former club AZ Alkmaar knowing they couldn’t keep him for long.
That’s according to Alkmaar director Max Huiberts, who has been praising the 20-year-old today as he earns fans at Euro 2024.
The full back is a part of Hungary’s squad for the tournament in Germany, officially making him the youngest player in them this summer.
It’s not been a happy time for him and his country so far as they’ve suffered defeats to Switzerland and Germany, with the Bournemouth man playing 79 minutes and 75 minutes in those games.
That continued his rapid rise over the last few years that has seen him go from Hungarian football to AC Milan’s U19 side, Alkmaar and then the Premier League last summer.
He also made his debut for his country in September 2022 and has made 17 appearances to date, a tally that is likely to increase considerably given he is still 20 years old.
Indeed, he appears set for a bright future in the game, particularly after a solid first season with Bournemouth in the Premier League this year, and those who worked with him at Alkmaar have insisted they always knew that would be the case.
“In all those years, I have never seen a player who is so mature at such a young age. He had the total package. If he said he was 25 years old, you would believe it,” said Alkmaar technical director Max Huiberts.
“He was impatient, in the good sense of the word. He wanted to achieve the maximum very quickly and did everything for that, on and off the field. He also spoke to the older players if things needed to be improved.
“We would have liked to have enjoyed him longer, but when several clubs came, we knew it would be difficult to keep him longer.
“As strange as it sounds, I knew that he would be great at such a young age and would make an impact in the Premier League. I would have trusted few other players with that in all the time I have been doing this work.”
