Milos Kerkez played under Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth

Milos Kerkez says he is “delighted” that Andoni Iraola got the Liverpool job, having previously worked with the Basque coach at Bournemouth.

Kerkez, 22, played under Iraola between 2023 and 2025 before moving to Anfield last summer.

“I was delighted, honestly,” Kerkez told reporters. “I worked for him before, and he helped me and improved me a lot in the two years that I spent with him. I was really happy, obviously for myself but also for the team. Everyone knows what type of football he plays, so I think he is the perfect fit for us.”

On Iraola’s style of play and what Liverpool fans can expect, the Hungarian left-back added: “He’s all about intensity. He’s not scared to play one-on-one all over the pitch, to press high and to be on the front foot always. If you see footage of how we all are after training, all lying down, then you can see what he is preparing us for. You definitely need legs and good condition for what he wants us to do, but we will be alright.

“The gaffer likes to play more with the full-backs down the line – underlapping, overlapping. It worked well for me at Bournemouth, so I think it will also work well for me here. He always told me that as a full-back, you need to defend hard and everything that you do in front is a bonus.

“I was always focused on defending and then running forward to help the wingers. He showed me that when you do your job, you’re free then to do what you want. I felt really free with him. I know what it means to play for Liverpool. I showed it a bit last year and I am going to show it more this year.”

Kerkez and Liverpool began pre-season under Iraola with a 4-2 win over Sunderland on Saturday. The Reds take on Wrexham in New York City on Wednesday evening before concluding their pre-season tour of the USA with a game against Leeds in Chicago on Sunday.

The French Football Federation (FFF) has officially appointed Zinedine Zidane as the new head coach of the France men’s national team, ending years of speculation over who would eventually succeed Didier Deschamps.

The announcement was made on Tuesday, just two weeks after France concluded their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a fourth-place finish.

Deschamps’ final match in charge ended in a dramatic 6-4 defeat to England.

Zidane will officially take charge ahead of France’s UEFA Nations League fixtures.

His first match as head coach will come against Turkey, before Les Bleus host Italy at the Stade de France on October 2.

The appointment marks Zidane’s return to coaching after his highly successful spell with Real Madrid.

Deschamps leaves the France job after an extraordinary 14-year tenure.

During his time in charge, he managed 185 matches, recording 120 victories, while guiding France to several major honours.

His achievements include winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup, ifting the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League title, reaching the Euro 2016 final and finishing as runners-up at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Zidane is no stranger to success with the French national team.

As a player, he formed part of the legendary France squad alongside Deschamps that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup on home soil before lifting the UEFA Euro 2000 title two years later.

His coaching credentials are equally impressive. During his spell at Real Madrid, Zidane guided the Spanish giants to an unprecedented three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018, while also winning multiple domestic and international trophies.

Former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Jonathan Vatsa, has declared that no amount of harassment, intimidation or blackmail will force him to abandon his opposition to the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

He also commended Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, for reportedly choosing a Christian as his running mate ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

Vatsa, an APC chieftain, said Governor Sani’s reported decision to pick a Christian from the Southern Kaduna Senatorial District as his deputy reflected political maturity, fairness and religious sensitivity.

Speaking to journalists in Minna, the former APC Publicity Secretary in Niger State said the governor had distinguished himself from his predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai, by embracing what he described as a “faith-balanced” ticket.

According to him, the decision would promote peaceful coexistence, strengthen political inclusion and reassure Christians in Kaduna State of their place in governance.

“I want to commend Governor Uba Sani for this singular gesture towards the Christian community in Kaduna State.

He has distinguished himself from those who profess love for Christians publicly but sideline them when it comes to appointments and elective offices,” Vatsa said.

He urged Christians in Kaduna State to rally behind Governor Sani, insisting that the governor deserved their support for what he described as an inclusive approach to leadership.

Vatsa, however, reiterated his opposition to the Muslim-Muslim tickets adopted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, describing the arrangement as politically insensitive and unacceptable.

“I stand by my earlier condemnation of the same-faith ticket at the federal level and in Niger State. These decisions are politically insensitive and unacceptable,” he stressed.

Vatsa insisted that no amount of harassment, intimidation or blackmail would make him change his position, stressing that speaking against any form of marginalisation was a moral obligation.

“Even if you don’t like the messenger, you should take the message. You don’t go to church to sing choruses and dance with Christians and when it comes to appointments or elective offices, you marginalise them,” he said.

Vatsa maintained that he would continue to speak out regardless of threats, adding that as a pioneer member of the APC who sacrificed for the party ahead of the 2015 elections, nobody could intimidate him.

“Anything anybody thinks he has acquired to harass and intimidate others is temporary because when the time comes, we shall all leave with empty hands,” he further added.