Marko Grujic has revealed that Liverpool’s asking price for him scuppered a permanent move away from Anfield this past summer.
Grujic was Jurgen Klopp’s first signing as Reds boss five years ago but the Serbian midfielder doesn’t seem to be in the German manager’s plans.
The 24-year-old had two loan spells with Hertha Berlin and is now on another one with Porto.
Liverpool were only listening to offers for a minimum £18 million during the summer, which would’ve represented a major profit of around £13 million had they offloaded him.
And the player has suggested that the fee was ‘unrealistic’ relative to what he had achieved in football at that time.
He said to Kurir: “They certainly want to make money on me. The English are quite demanding during the negotiations. They do not lack money and can close the amount they want. So it is with me.
“It was unrealistic that they asked for 20 million euros for me, so the loan was the most realistic.”
Even now, the writing seems to be on the wall for Grujic.
Liverpool’s acquisition of Thiago Alcantara during the summer was a big indication that Klopp didn’t feel he was ready to stay with the Premier League champions this season.
But with Thiago and Naby Keita’s injury problems, Jordan Henderson’s age [30] and the fact Gini Wijnaldum could leave as early as this month, the Reds’ midfield options don’t seem great for the long term and therefore maybe Grujic can fight his way back into contention.
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