Liverpool FC have completed the signing of Serb midfielder, Marko Grujic, for £5.1M from Red Star Belgrade.
The 19-year-old becomes the first recruit under boss, Jurgen Klopp, who described the teenager as a “tall boy”.
Grujic signed a deal until 2020 with the Reds and has been loaned straight back to Red Star Belgrade.
Born and raised in Belgrade, Grujic came through the highly impressive Red Star academy in Serbia, set on emulating global talents such as Inter Milan legend, Dejan Stankovic, former Manchester United defender, Nemanja Vidic, and Manchester City left-back, Aleksandar Kolarov.
A natural leader, Grujic was the captain of his youth team, and made his professional breakthrough for Red Star in 2013 at the age of just 17.
In 2014 he impressed on loan at lower tier Kolubara, while still being able to feature for his parent club due to dual registration.
A gifted central midfielder, Grujic started to alert European clubs with his domestic performances early last year. However, it wasn’t until this season that he began to lead his side to victories.
Red Star have won 20 out of their 22 games and lead the championship by a staggering 25 points, with Grujic scoring five goals in his 21 appearances.
A box-to-box midfielder who stands at 6ft 3in, Grujic was a star player under manager, Miodrag Bozovic, showing his tenacity to break up play defensively, combined with an ability to get his side on the front foot.
Grujic is also a key man at international level, though he hasn’t quite made the breakthrough into the senior side just yet.
He has been an ever-present for Serbia from Under 16 to Under 21 level, and was part of the team that won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand last summer. He appeared five times throughout the tournament.
Grujic has been compared to countryman, Nemanja Matic, of Chelsea because of his height and rangy style,
A move to the Premier League has been high on his wish list for some time.
“I would like to go and play in England,” Grujic said in October. “I love the atmosphere in the stadium and how the fans are close to the pitch and how that energy transfers to the players.”
One man who wasn’t too keen on Grujic moving however was his father, who threw his move to Merseyside in doubt when he objected to how Red Star, in his view, had forced Marko to leave as they needed the money.
He said: “I won’t allow them to destroy my kid! I’m speaking about people who are in charge of the club.”
Grujic has made the move however, and it is clear Klopp rates him after luring him away from Russian clubs CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg.
