Aston Villa have expressed an interest in Liverpool midfielder, Marko Grujić. Liverpool Echo is reporting that the Serbian could be sent out on loan in January. Allegedly, we are joining Brighton is registering interest in taking Grujić for the rest of the season.
The 21-year-old is a Serbian international but is struggling to break into Liverpool’s first team squad. He has played a total of eight games for the Reds this year, including friendlies, and Juergen Klopp wants the player to get regular action away from Anfield. He started the Carabao Cup defeat against Leicester but has been limited to three Premier League sub appearances as well as one against Hoffenheim in the Champions League.
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Grujić started his career at Red Star Belgrade where he scored five goals from 31 appearances. During this time, he worked his way through the Serbian Under 16-21 teams where he made 28 appearances at the different levels. Klopp called the midfielder personally to convince him to sign for Liverpool before finally making his move in January 2016. Part of the deal was that an immediate loan back took place. He was part of the Belgrade team that won the Serbian Superliga during the deal.
Since returning, Grujić has not made an impact at Liverpool in several appearances over the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Sporadic games in the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup haven’t given the player opportunity to consistently play. Therefore, Klopp wants his midfielder to play regularly instead of reserve team action.
If there is merit in the report that Villa are interested, the motivation needs exploring. On the face of it, the midfield has many options. Including in that is Josh Onomah. Perhaps, it has been indicated that Spurs are going to exercise their recall option and we are looking for a like-for-like replacement? Onomah’s form has dipped as late so a recall may not harm Villa as long as they have a player coming in.
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The Serbian is talented and has an eye for goal. He is rated by Juergen Klopp otherwise he would be looking to offload permanently. Grujić’s tall and rangy play would give Championship oppositions something different to deal with. Our appeal for the player could be regular football. However, the same opportunity at a Premier League club may be too tempting.