On-loan Liverpool man Marko Grujic has today reaffirmed his hopes of one day carving out a regular spot for himself at the heart of the club’s midfield.
Liverpool starlet
24-year-old Grujic was the first signing of the Jurgen Klopp era at Liverpool, making the move to Merseyside from boyhood club Red Star Belgrade for a fee of around £5 million.
However, his tender years, coupled with the competition for places at Anfield, have since seen Grujic go on to manage just 8 Premier League appearances for the Reds.
The all-action midfielder has been farmed out on a quartet of loans, the latest of which saw Grujic return to the Bundesliga for a 2nd season with Hertha Berlin last summer.
And, after impressing during his debut campaign at the Olympiastadion Berlin, Grujic has since gone on to play an integral role in Hertha’s midfield ranks once again this time around.
The Serb has earned starts in 23 of the German outfit’s 28 Bundesliga fixtures, notching 4 goals in the process, including the opener in his side’s 2-2 draw with RB Leipzig during the week.
‘Still a Liverpool player’
Despite Grujic’s starring displays for Hertha, however, it has, for some time, remained altogether unclear whether Jurgen Klopp actually has any plans to integrate the 24-year-old into Liverpool’s ranks in the middle of the park.
Klopp currently has all of Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnadum, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to call on, meaning carving out consistent minutes at Anfield next season would likely prove a struggle for Grujic.
As outlined above, though, the 8-time capped international himself remains hopeful of one day establishing himself as a Liverpool regular.
Speaking in an interview with the club’s official website earlier today, Grujic reiterated that a long-term future with the Reds remains his ‘dream’:
‘I have mainly been in touch with Julian [Ward, loan partnerships and football partnerships manager] and he has talked to me all the time about training, about exercises that we did at home and now we always speak before and after the game on if we have to improve something.’
‘Of course that means a lot – I am still a Liverpool player and I want to be, one day, a regular Liverpool player. For me it’s still a dream to play for the club so we keep in touch.’
We caught up with Grujic to discuss the adaption to a new way of working, his aims for the rest of the campaign, his hopes for #LFC and much more… 🔴
— Liverpool FC (at 🏠) (@LFC) May 29, 2020
Best Netflix, Amazon & YouTube football documentaries & movies to watch during coronavirus isolation
9 best football documentaries to watch on ESPN+ during COVID-19 quarantine
