Liverpool confirm Marko Grujic signing

Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic from SuperLiga club Red Star Belgrade.

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Grujic arrives for a reported £5.1 million, and will be immediately loaned back to Red Star until July.

The 19-year-old had confirmed the move himself on his Facebook page over the weekend, becoming Jurgen Klopp‘s first signing as Liverpool manager.

Grujic is a versatile centre-midfielder who has scored five goals and has seven assists in 21 league appearances so far this season.

The player is said to have been highly recommended by Liverpool assistant manager, and fellow Serbian, Zeljko Buvac, and Jurgen Klopp is said to have contacted the player directly in order to ensure he opted for Merseyside over Milan.

Speaking to the official LFC site, Klopp said of his first signing: “We’re very pleased because Marko is a big talent and we’ve seen him a lot of times.

“When I came here, our scouts showed me some footage of a very skilled player from Red Star Belgrade. We watched it, we spoke to him, we met each other – he’s a good boy, a young boy but plays an important role at the moment at Red Star, who are the best team in Serbia.

“To describe him, I would say he’s a tall boy, but quick and good at technical things. He can play passes and can dribble. But he is young, so he has to develop. He will do this, so everything is okay.”

Describing his position, Grujic said: “I play in midfield as a defensive, central or attacking midfielder. I try to shoot a lot in games like a box-to-box midfielder.”

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A statement from Red Star last month confirmed the financial arrangements of the deal:

“Red Star Belgrade in the last 10 days received three formal offers for the transfer of our player Marko Grujic: from Anderlecht €2m; of Stuttgart €5m; of Liverpool we received an offer worth €7m and 10% of the next transfer.”

TIA Comment: While it’s nice to see us sign yet another highly rated youngster, this signing is far from the one that’s needed this winter. Predicting how a player such as Grujic may develop is a difficult game, and it’s high time Liverpool FC signed players of proven quality who can immediately impact the first-team. Signings of this type are what are needed now and this summer.

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