Red Star Belgrade midfielder Marko Grujic looks set to become the first signing of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool reign, and the 19-year-old represents something of an under-the-radar target for a Reds support expecting big-name arrivals from Klopp’s former club, Borussia Dortmund.

According to the Liverpool Echo‘s Kristian Walsh, the deal to sign Grujic will see the young Serbian rejoin Red Star on loan until the end of the season and could be worth around £5 million to Liverpool.

“The Reds have been battling Inter Milan for the £5 million-rated teenager, with the club originally fearful the Italian side were leading the chase,” Walsh explains. “But the Reds seem to have won the battle after Klopp, a keen admirer of the player, became personally involved in the deal to bring the 19-year-old to Anfield.”

Walsh also cites Red Star’s perilous financial situation and the influence of Klopp’s Bosnian-Serb assistant, Zeljko Buvac, as key factors within Grujic’s decision to join the Reds over Serie A giants Inter, and he quotes Grujic as confirming talks with the club.

For supporters perhaps expecting the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, or even Porto’s Ruben Neves, to be the first player through the door following Klopp’s appointment, this may be a disappointment.

But Grujic may surprise many on his move to Merseyside.

So who is this prodigious midfielder, and what will he bring to Liverpool?

Grujic spent eight years in the Red Star academy before being given his first-team debut at the age of 17, with the ambitious Ricardo Sa Pinto looking to blood some of his youngsters in an end-of-season clash against rivals Vojvodina.

Grujic lined up alongside Nemanja Jaksic (17), Darko Lazic (18), Srdjan Mijailovic (19), Ognjen Ozegovic (18) and Vukan Savicevic (19) in side with an average age of 19.7 years.

Though Red Star fell to a 3-0 defeat at the Stadion Karadjordje that afternoon, this gave Grujic a vital taste of first-team action—but the midfielder had to wait until 2014/15 before he became a regular fixture for the Belgrade outfit.

With current manager Miodrag Bozovic’s arrival came Grujic’s promotion into a central role at Red Star, and with his bullish, box-to-box style of play it is easy to see why he has slotted in so neatly under the Montenegrin, who spent two seasons operating in the Red Star defence as a player in 1992/93 and 1993/94.

Grujic is able to operate in the defensive sector and also pushing closer to the penalty area, with his lofty 6’3″ frame lending him the physique of compatriot Nemanja Matic—though while Matic typically serves as Chelsea‘s diligent defensive midfielder, Grujic looks more comfortable driving into attack.

“If I had to compare Marko Grujic to anyone in terms of style of playing, I’d compare him to our own Steven Gerrard,” Liverpool-supporting Serbian journalist Vlastimir Stevanovic told the Liverpool Echo‘s James Pearce at the beginning of December.

Though it is an audacious comparison, as Stevanovic describes Grujic’s attributes, the 19-year-old’s style of play does align with the former Liverpool captain.

“He can play offensively, but he would also be great at playing a deeper role, much like [Paul] Pogba, which is actually how he plays at Red Star,” he explained. “He is very tall and strong so he’s great at aerial duels. He has excellent vision, a great passing game and he possesses great game intelligence.”

Grujic is a dominant midfielder, and despite his young years, he has imposed himself as Red Star’s key player in a remarkable run for the Serbian SuperLiga title, having already qualified for the championship playoffs with his side 25 points clear of second-placed FK Cukaricki and 26 ahead of regular title-winners and bitter rivals Partizan Belgrade.

According to Stevanovic, Grujic’s team-mate Luis Ibanez “has said that Grujic is the main guy responsible for the success of the team this season.”

This is not necessarily a marker for the midfielder’s quality when anticipating a move to the Premier League, however, with SuperLiga clashes typically played at a slower pace to the notoriously frenetic, physical English top flight, and this suits Grujic’s game, allowing him to stand tall above his opponents and dictate play.

But, as Walsh attests, Buvac is seemingly convinced of Grujic’s quality, and following major success with recruitment alongside Klopp and their superiors at Dortmund, this should be given credence.

Similarly, so should Liverpool’s aggressive pursuit of their target, as Goal.com’s Melissa Reddy explained:

Following encouraging talks with the 19-year-old at the start of December, Liverpool’s chief executive Ian Ayre flew to Belgrade to thrash out the terms of a deal with the player and his club, Red Star. 

Liverpool’s director of technical performance, Michael Edwards, was also instrumental in convincing the Serbian talent that his future was best served on Merseyside.

This quick business resembled Liverpool’s pursuit of Roberto Firmino in June, with a priority placed on making sure a promising prospect was not picked up by another member of Europe’s elite.

Jurgen Klopp’s assistant, Zeljko Buvac, as well as the manager himself are admirers of Grujic’s mix of athleticism and power. They were keen to ensure the club did not miss out on such an exciting teenager, with the Reds boss personally speaking to the player and his agent.

He is seen as a player able to bring a lot to Liverpool, as Klopp’s likely first signing and a priority target heading into the winter, and as Reddy suggests, the Reds’ straightforward approach to talks with Red Star saw them snatch one of the hottest European talents from under Inter’s nose, and their influential assistant manager Dejan Stankovic, a fellow Serb.

Within Klopp’s squad, it is likely that Grujic would take up a midfield role similar to that at Red Star, with the German no doubt looking to utilise his drive and physicality to assume a box-to-box role similar to that of Emre Can, possibly on the flanks of Liverpool’s regular midfield three.

It is also feasible to picture the Serbian at the base of Klopp’s midfield, however, with Lucas Leiva the only current regular defensive midfielder—unless Can is moulded into this role.

Nevertheless, moving from Serbia at a young age, it is imperative that Grujic is given time to adjust. As the struggles of former Liverpool attacker Milan Jovanovic and Lazar Markovic—who is now on loan at Fenerbahce—in adapting to life on Merseyside prove, it would be detrimental to expect him to star from his first outing in a red shirt.

But Klopp and Liverpool’s commitment to securing the signing of this much-vaunted young midfielder should be encouraging.

As his history of polishing diamonds from the rough at Dortmund shows, Klopp is able to nurture talents such as Grujic into top-level European fixtures.

 

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