Porto coach Sergio Conceicao has admitted that he was thrilled to finally land Marko Grujic on loan after chasing the Liverpool midfielder for two years, speaking to A Bola.
In another era, a man who became Jurgen Klopp’s first signing at Anfield five years ago would have quite a few Premier League appearances under his belt by now.
But with Grujic’s 2015 arrival coinciding with Liverpool’s return to the elite, and with Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum and more packing the engine room full of class and quality, Grujic’s tally of Premier League outings stands at a paltry eight.
And, after spending the last two years honing his talents in the Bundesliga with Hertha Berlin, the Serbia international was forced to leave on loan again this summer in search of regular first-team football.
Though he shouldn’t be short of that with Conceicao a huge fan of the 24-year-old powerhouse.
“He is a midfielder who has a very interesting physical impact on the game,” the 56-time Portugal international explains.
“Technically, he is very capable, plays short and long passes but he has to improve in the occupation of space with and without ball. He needs time.
“I followed him at Hertha two years ago and he is different from what we had (at Porto). He has a strong desire to help and, against Olympiakos, he re-balanced the midfield, where he was particularly impressive.”
That 20-minute cameo in last week’s 2-0 Champions League group-stage victory over Olympiakos was one of only two games Grujic has featured in yet for Porto.
But, once he gets up to speed, Liverpool will be hoping a midfielder once likened to Paul Pogba can show off his wide array of skills at the Estadio do Dragao.
Only then will the Reds be able to sell for the £20 million fee they are demanding (Goal).
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