According to reports from The Express, Red Star Belgrade have insisted Chelsea and Manchester United target Marko Grujic won’t be allowed to leave the club during the January transfer window.
The midfield prodigy, who first drew attention as Serbia lifted the U20 World Cup in New Zealand during the summer, has been compared to Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic due to his similar style of play, shared nationality and lofty 6 foot 3 frame.
Manchester United scouts ran the rule over the 19-year-old during last month’s Belgrade derby, watching him open the scoring in a 3-0 win over FK Rad Beograd, whilst Grujic confirmed Chelsea’s interest in him earlier this month, telling reporters; “Nemanja Matic is a friend, he’s Serbian and he has been at Chelsea for over a year. He tells me that they want me.”
Some sources even claim the Premier League champions have already tabled a €4million bid. But it appears any attempts to sign the towering teenager will now have to be put on hold until the end of the season following the latest comments from Red Star sporting director Zvedzan Terzic.
As quoted by The Express, he told Sportske; “Grujic is one of our best players. He can’t leave the club before August, or in any case not before the end of the season. If we can’t guarantee support from the sponsors of the club, then there’s the possibility of signing a pre-contract with a club, but he’ll stay with us until the end of August, until the end of the European preliminaries.
“Grujic’s family has always behaved well with us, in fact four months ago we renewed until 2018, showing great understanding with the club,” Terzic added.