Liverpool are preparing to negotiate the permanent departure of Marko Grujic this summer, with the midfielder attracting interest in both Germany and the Premier League.
The 24-year-old has featured just 14 times for Liverpool since he signed for the club in 2016, the first signing of Jurgen Klopp‘s reign.
He has experienced four loan spells since arriving as a 19-year-old, with Red Star Belgrade, Cardiff and Hertha Berlin all acting as a temporary home.
It is the latter where he has since flourished, however, making a total of 54 appearances for the German outfit, scoring nine goals and setting up another three throughout his two seasons with the Bundesliga outfit in 2018/19 and 2019/20.
Grujic returned to Liverpool for pre-season training, linking up with the squad in Austria but he is seemingly living on borrowed time with Goal’s Neil Jones reporting the club are “finally set to let him go permanently this summer.”
The Reds value him in the region of £20 million, a fee which may prove hard to reach considering the financial landscape in view of the ongoing ramifications of the pandemic.
And as previously reported out of Germany, Hertha are looking to make his stay permanent – but Liverpool’s demands are likely to be out of their reach.
Suggestions for them to push for another loan with an obligation to buy next summer are “unlikely” to be sanctioned by the Reds considering other interested suitors.
They are not the only Bundesliga club interested as Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Moenchengladbach are both said to be “keen” along with Werder Bremen, while Italy’s Atalanta have also made enquiries.
In the Premier League, both Aston Villa and Crystal Palace “are understood to have made contact” with the midfielder’s agent, but the former is the more unlikely of the pair to pursue a deal as they eye Bournemouth‘s Philip Billing following the Cherries’ relegation.
Grujic is expected to be involved in some capacity in the Reds’ first pre-season friendly against Stuttgart on Saturday, which could be one of the last times he is seen in a Liverpool kit as the club look to see him settle elsewhere.
The fee will be key, however, with Liverpool’s stance on a £20 million valuation no doubt set to be tested in the coming days and weeks.
Fan Comments