Grujic set for no senior football at Liverpool until January

Marko Grujic is now likely to play no first team football until January, according to the Evening Standard‘s David Lynch.

The Serb didn’t move on during the summer transfer window, staying put by the time Monday’s cutoff arrived.

Lynch claims that Grujic was ‘widely expected’ to leave Liverpool for pastures new, but no clubs met the Reds’ £20million valuation of him.

Due to Jurgen Klopp now having 18 non-homegrown players in his ranks, it appears as though Grujic will become unwanted, with 17 the limit in Premier League and Champions League squads, and Xherdan Shaqiri likely to be preferred.

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You have to feel sorry for Grujic, considering he could now end up stuck in Liverpool’s U23s for months, rather than being a key man elsewhere, as was the case at Hertha Berlin over the past two seasons.

Such is the plethora of midfield options at Klopp’s disposal, it is almost impossible to see where he will fit in.

Thiago has been brought in to add even more depth to the squad, joining the likes of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones and James Milner, all of whom are ahead of Grujic in the pecking order.

Liverpool are already out of the Carabao Cup – Grujic played in both games against Lincoln City and Arsenal – and the FA Cup doesn’t get underway until January, so his chances are bordering on non-existent.

I think Shaqiri is the better option to have in and around the squad, however, because he brings something different to Grujic.

He is a wide player in general, which is an area where Liverpool are more lacking in terms of options, particularly on the right-hand side. Diogo Jota has come in as a handy backup to Sadio Mane – Shaqiri can be similar to Mohamed Salah on the opposite flank, if he can stay fit.