Liverpool journalist Matt Addison has been sharing some information on Reds midfielder Marko Grujic and his season-long loan move to FC Porto.
This comes after Addison recently made an appearance on the Liverpool Echo’s Blood Red Podcast where he spoke about the latest goings-on at the Merseyside club.
On the subject of Grujic and his temporary move to Porto, Addison had this to say on the matter.
He said: “[There is] no obligation to buy [Grujic] within that deal, though, so it’s just a straight loan – of course, Liverpool would have been more inclined to let him go on a permanent deal had the money being put on the table; £20 million or so, they valued him at all summer.
“I think it’s a really good move, obviously, as I say Liverpool did initially want a permanent deal to take place, but given the fact that that wasn’t a serious option at this moment in time, I think this was probably the next best thing, even though they have had to go back on that stance and soften it a little bit.
“I think probably they’re now in a better position to possibly get a better fee for him next year if he has a good season with Porto – not just in the league, but in the Champions League as well. Potentially that could drive up the fee, but I think it will certainly drive up interest as we head into next summer.”
Do you think Liverpool will sell Grujic permanently next summer?
Yes
No
Liverpool signed the midfielder back in the 2016 January transfer window from Serbian club Red Star Belgrade for a fee of £6.3 million. Since then, Grujic has had previous loan deals at clubs such as Cardiff City, Hertha Berlin and a temporary return back to his previous club Red Star.
Since signing to the Reds, the 24-year-old has made just 16 senior appearances for Jurgen Klopp’s side in which he has managed to score one goal and provide one assist along the way.
Grujic’s latest senior appearance for Liverpool came in their fourth-round Carabao Cup defeat to Arsenal, in which the Liverpool Echo gave him a match rating of 8/10, saying that he “covered plenty of ground to plug the defensive gaps in midfield.”
TIF Thoughts…
Hopefully, Grujic will be able to get sufficient playing time during his loan spell at Porto and then see what Liverpool decide to do with him after that.
Looking at how many senior appearances the midfield man has made for Liverpool since his arrival, it makes us wonder if he thinks he may have made the wrong decision in joining the Reds in the first place.