In a recent report, The Daily Mail has claimed that West Ham United and Southampton are eyeing a loan move for Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic before the transfer deadline day later today. It is believed that both those Premier League clubs are weighing up loan offers for the Reds talent as they look to strengthen their squads for the 2020-21 campaign (via The Daily Mail).
Grujic’s Recent Rise To Prominence At Merseyside
Grujic has caught the eye with his performances in the EFL Cup this season as he produced a couple of impressive displays under Jurgen Klopp’s tutelage. However, his contributions weren’t enough for the Merseyside giants to stay in the competition after Arsenal beat them via penalties in midweek.
The 24-year-old recently enjoyed a fruitful two-year loan spell with Hertha Berlin where he made a total of 54 appearances, scoring nine goals while grabbing three assists across all competitions. The Belgrad-born midfield ace managed to be one of the Berlin outfit’s top performers in the previous campaign. He averaged 1.9 tackles, 0.8 interceptions, 2.3 clearances, 1.2 shots and 1.0 dribbles per game in the German Bundesliga last season. Grujic was even relatively tidy with his ball-distribution as he completed 78.7% of his attempted passes in top-flight football (stats via whoscored).
The eight-time Serbian international needs regular game time if he wants to improve himself on the field. Hence, going out on loan might help him get some regular first-team football under his belt in this new campaign.
What Are The Serbian Midfielder’s Best Attributes?
Standing at 1.91m, Grujic can be an intimidating presence at the centre of the park and has shown great maturity to pass the ball accurately in the opposition half. He can also strike the ball with a lot of power which makes him a goal-threat from long range. However, the Serbian international has to find some consistency if he intends to become a regular feature in Klopp’s first-team someday.
Why The Reds Shouldn’t Let Grujic Leave On Loan This Summer
Despite Grujic’s need for regular first-team football, the Merseysiders should consider keeping hold of him for now as he is the only natural back-up to Fabinho for the holding midfield position. Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and Georginio Wijnaldum have also played in that defensive midfield role. Still, they are naturally more attack-minded, which is why Klopp should consider using Grujic as a rotational piece in midfield.
The Serbian is good enough to play for Liverpool in the cup competitions, so he might still have a big role to play in the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup later this season. All in all, Liverpool shouldn’t entertain the possibility of letting Grujic leave on loan this summer as he can still serve as an important squad player at Anfield in the coming months.
