Soccer-Liverpool sign defender Kerkez from Bournemouth

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Leicester City - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - May 25, 2025 AFC Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez in action with Leicester City's Kasey McAteer Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO USE WITH UNAUTHORIZED AUDIO, VIDEO, DATA, FIXTURE LISTS, CLUB/LEAGUE LOGOS OR 'LIVE' SERVICES. ONLINE IN-MATCH USE LIMITED TO 120 IMAGES, NO VIDEO EMULATION. NO USE IN BETTING, GAMES OR SINGLE CLUB/LEAGUE/PLAYER PUBLICATIONS. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE FOR FURTHER DETAILS../File Photo

(Reuters) -Liverpool have signed Hungary left back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth, the Premier League champions said on Thursday.

The Merseyside club agreed a 40 million-pound ($54.9 million) fee to recruit the 21-year-old on a five-year contract, their third signing of the transfer window after midfielder Florian Wirtz and wing-back Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen.

"It's a real honour for me, a privilege to come to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, (the) biggest club in England. I'm just really, really happy and excited," Kerkez said in a statement.

"I'll go home and in my hometown enjoy a few days, and then I can't really wait to come back and put the training kit on and start to train and prepare for the season."

Kerkez joined Liverpool after two impressive seasons at Bournemouth, in which he made 74 appearances.

Born in Serbia, Kerkez has earned 23 caps for Hungary since making his debut against Germany in 2022.

($1 = 0.7289 pounds)

(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)