I Told Him To Look At Milos Kerkez – Ex-Liverpool Assistant Motivates Ajax Man | OneFootball

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Former Liverpool assistant John Heitinga, who is the current Ajax boss, has revealed that he has tried to motivate Owen Wijndal with the example of Milos Kerekz, who joined the Reds recently.

Wijndal joined the Dutch giants from AZ Alkmaar back in the summer of 2022 for a fee of €10m, but that move has not worked out yet.

The Dutch left-back has made only 45 appearances for the Amsterdam club in three seasons, and now their new boss, Heitinga, is keen on improving him.

When Wijndal left AZ Alkmaar, they signed Kerkez as his replacement, and the Hungarian has since turned himself into a top-class left-back.

Heitinga revealed that he sat with Wijndal and told him how Kerkez came to AZ Alkmaar after his departure and how he made himself good enough to be an important Liverpool signing.

The former Reds assistant is willing to give the Ajax man pre-season during which he can stake his claim for a spot in the side.

“He has to show it in pre-season!” Heitinga told Dutch magazine Voetbal International about Wijndal.

“So far, he’s been going full throttle. I’ve sat down with him and given him the example of Milos Kerkez.

“He replaced him at AZ Alkmaar, then he went to Bournemouth, and now even to Liverpool, so: ‘What do you want? What are your ambitions? You’ll get the pre-season in any case.

“Then the moment will come when we make the decision.’

Heitinga admits he has also spoken to current Liverpool boss Arne Slot about Wijndal.

“I’ve also spoken to Arne about him.

“He has to show it, just like the rest.”

The Reds paid around €46m to Bournemouth this summer to acquire Hungary left-back Kerkez, who is regarded as one of the best in his position in the Premier League.

That has left a question mark over how much Andrew Robertson will play this season, amid interest from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.