Sporting Lisbon have pulled out of the race to sign Lazar Markovic, as Liverpool are only interested in permanent offers, but according to Melissa Reddy in Goal, new suitors are emerging.
Jorge Jesus was keen on bringing the 22-year-old to Portugal, but now Fiorentina and Bundesliga outfit Schalke have jumped ahead of them in the race for his signature.
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Markovic has been made available by Liverpool as we’re well stocked in the attacking midfield area, but the club naturally want to recoup as much of the £20m they spent on him back in 2014 – despite his failure to establish himself on Merseyside.
Schalke are losing Leroy Sane this summer, and reportedly see our young Serbian as an exciting direct replacement, while Fiorentina have already spoke to club officials about a potential transfer.
Reddy suggests a loan move isn’t impossible, providing it comes with a hefty fee.
Markovic is enormously talented, so we’d like to see a buyback option included in any potential sale, similar to the deals that saw Sergi Canos and Jordon Leave leave for Norwich and Bournemouth respectively earlier in the summer.