CM: Kerkez now a star for AZ Alkmaar and Hungary – the background on his Milan exit | OneFootball

CM: Kerkez now a star for AZ Alkmaar and Hungary – the background on his Milan exit | OneFootball

Icon: SempreMilan

SempreMilan

·25 September 2022

CM: Kerkez now a star for AZ Alkmaar and Hungary – the background on his Milan exit

Article image:CM: Kerkez now a star for AZ Alkmaar and Hungary – the background on his Milan exit

AC Milan made the decision to sell Milos Kerkez in the summer and the player also pushed for a new adventure elsewhere, a report has outlined.

Calciomercato.com recall how Kerkez left Milan almost in anonymity over the summer with the feeling of not having managed to keep up with the expectations mounted towards him, and he chose to start afresh in the Eredivisie with AZ Alkmaar.


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Now, he has made the first start for his national team Hungary, meaning the left-back’s decision to leave one of the most prestigious and important clubs in Europe to find more playing time elsewhere has so far paid off.

Kerkez is shining in the Netherlands and earned the call from Marco Rossi’s Hungary, who are Italy’s opponent tomorrow for a place in the next Nations League Final Four. In his first 15 apprenticeships with Alkmaar, Kerkez has already scored a goal and provided 5 assists.

AZ are unbeaten and third in the standings just behind the leaders PSV and that has helped Kerkez’s exponential growth on an individual level.

So why was he allowed to leave Milan? The belief among the Rossoneri management was that the potential was there to continue his growth path in a positive way, but the player’s expectations were different and aimed at a quick promotion to the first team. It is a guarantee that Milan could not give him, but they were willing to sanction alone.

What seemed to tip the scales though was the signing of Fode Ballo-Touré for the role of deputy to Theo Hernandez last summer, which led Kerkez to push for a sale outright.

“I expected to have a chance because I was doing better than any Primavera full-back of any team. Milan are obviously a great club and it’s not easy as a young man to have a chance there. But I think with my performances and what I have done maybe I deserved a chance,” he told Scouted Football recently.

He then moved to AZ last January for €2m plus bonuses, to start a new path that today is producing the results that might make Maldini and Massara regret things.

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