It looks like Liverpool are frontrunners for the signature of talented Red Star Belgrade midfielder Marko Grujic, with the 19-year-old prodigy confirming that he’s spoken with the club, via the Guardian.
News broke earlier in the week that Liverpool were interested due to a personal recommendation from Jurgen Klopp’s Assistant Manager Zeljko Buvac, who’s a Serbian himself.
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Buvac had Grujic watched by the scouts, and Liverpool were obviously impressed with what they saw.
The player though is adamant no deal has been finalised, but if one eventually is, it won’t be until he’s helped his parent club qualify for the Champions League this season.
“I’ll try to respect the club, the fans and the general public, but again I think that for myself I have to choose the best environment where I get the chance to play and where I work with good coaches in good conditions,” he said. “It is certain that I remain here until the end of qualifying for the Champions League. I had a talk with Liverpool but I did not receive yet any agreement. I’m still a Red Star player.”
Grujic has been capped at every Serbian youth level, and has five goals from central midfield for Red Star so far in 20-odd appearances.
Our scouts watched him bag in a 7-2 weekend drubbing, and we imagine this was when our representatives spoke with the player. He’s rated at around £5m, which in this day and age, wouldn’t represent much of a transfer risk.