Milos Kerkez named in Theo Walcott’s Liverpool and Real Madrid combined XI as Champions League tie nears
Milos Kerkez is Liverpool’s only summer signing who makes it into Theo Walcott’s combined XI with Real Madrid.
Arne Slot and Richard Hughes had a heavy summer of spending during the 2025-26 summer transfer window, which saw players such as Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak added to their ranks.
Although the season started well for the Anfield outfit, things have been going downhill ever since they were beaten by Crystal Palace on 27 September.
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Indeed, the Reds’ performance levels did pick up on Saturday evening when Liverpool managed to beat Aston Villa 2-0, and to be honest, that win couldn’t have come at a better time.
That’s because Liverpool’s next two games are against Real Madrid and Manchester City, and with the quality that both teams have, the Reds will need to be at their best.
Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images
However, when asked for his combined Liverpool and Real Madrid XI ahead of their Champions League tie, Walcott surprisingly included Kerkez.
Milos Kerkez was one of three Liverpool players chosen by Theo Walcott in his combined XI
Kerkez has had a massive question mark hanging over his head since joining Liverpool.
Last season, he was one of the Premier League’s best left-backs, but this term, Andy Robertson has outperformed him more than once.
Kerkez’s hot-headedness, coupled with his playstyle not matching Liverpool’s current setup, are just two of the things that have made fans question whether he was worth signing in the first place.
However, while speaking to Amazon Prime Sports, Walcott surprisingly named the Hungarian in his Liverpool and Real Madrid combined XI.
The attacker went through all 11 positions with the team ending up like this: Thibaut Courtois; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Dean Huijsen, Kerkez; Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham; Mohamed Salah, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr.
So, despite Walcott seemingly believing that Real have the much better team of the two, Kerkez still snuck his way in.
Liverpool need to prove they’re in the Champions League to win it this season
As mentioned, Liverpool’s win against Villa genuinely couldn’t have come at a better time.
Slot’s men were massively lacking in confidence up until Saturday night’s triumph, and now they’ve got a spring in their step; things could start going back to what fans are used to.
Liverpool’s Champions League run last season was cut short after they were beaten on penalties by Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16.
Because of this, Salah missed out on the Ballon d’Or, and Liverpool only ended the season with the Premier League title to add to their trophy cabinet.
However, now that they’ve won the top-flight title, the Champions League is their priority, and with how good Real have been over the last few weeks, they’ll need to be on top form.
Whether Kerkez will actually start on Tuesday is another mystery, but with the way that Slot’s starting XI played against the Villans, it’s hard to see why he’d want to change anything.
