New Liverpool signing Marko Grujic has confirmed, in a story reported by the Liverpool Echo, that Lazar Markovic had a huge influence on his decision to join Liverpool.
He told Serbian publication Blic:
I spoke with Lazar Markovic and he told me good things about the club. He told me that Liverpool is a great club, that the pressure and expectations are enormous, and that the first two to three months are the most important.
Grujic is now back at Red Star Belgrade on a loan deal until the end of the season following his £5.1m move to Anfield. He was Jurgen Klopp’s first signing as manager talked about his move to Merseyside
When quizzed Grujic about how the move came around, he answered:
Everything started with the now famous phone call from Klopp. No-one told me that he was going to call. I was just sitting around when my phone started ringing and I saw a number on the screen starting with +44… England!
When I answered, I immediately recognised that German accent and that voice. He did most of the talking and told me about the plans that he had for me.
His vision is that I should be something between a No 6 and a No 10. What they call a box-to-box midfielder. My only request was that I didn’t want to be loaned out, I just want to play for Liverpool.
He was very open, told me about how he sees my development. When a coach like that calls you on the phone personally, that’s the greatest privilege. That call really cemented my desire to join Liverpool.
Grujic then went to talk about meeting his Liverpool team mates for the very first time when he was in England to complete his medical.
I had just finished all my examinations, and I climbed upstairs where I saw all of them having lunch. I almost passed out from excitement. My heart almost stopped!
I approached everyone and greeted them. I went weak at the knees with excitement but I sat down and had lunch. After that I went to have some more tests. I will remember this forever.
Dejan Lovren really cheered me up and impressed me. He is good friends with Lazar. He welcomed me with the words: ‘Is it finally over? We Balkan boys have to stick together!’
Liverpool reportedly wanted to keep Grujic, but the Serbian was desperate to stay at Red Star Belgrade until the end of the season to help the Serbian giants win the league title.
The upcoming six months will be very important for me. I will have a lot of work to do in addition to my training and games at Red Star.
Perhaps the most exciting and pleasing line from Grujic’s interview, for Liverpool fans anyway, was that the new man obviously holds the club in high regard.
I would choose Liverpool over Real Madrid or Barcelona. I love them! I love the Premier League because of the energy and the atmosphere.
