OPINION
Liverpool made a mistake by not selling Lazar Markovic this summer, and he is now a problem they’ll have to revisit in January.
The 24-year-old, on a reported £35,000-per-week at Anfield [Source: Spotrac], was axed from the first team to train with the Liverpool Under-23’s on Tuesday, according to the Liverpool Echo.
The Echo stated that the Serbian’s deadline day move to Anderlecht broke down after the player failed to agree personal terms with the Belgian side, but Liverpool left his departure too late anyway.
The Reds succeeded in ridding themselves of a decent amount of deadwood this summer, with Loris Karius, Danny Ings and Ragnar Klavan leaving amongst others.
However, Markovic should have been a priority from the moment the window opened. Everyone knows the Serbian has no future at Anfield, so he shouldn’t have been allowed to stick around until deadline day before a sale was seriously discussed.
He is essentially taking free money from the club at the moment. Jurgen Klopp has no intention of using him, so he is merely picking up a pay cheque.
The midfielder’s contract is up next summer, and the club risks losing him for free if he doesn’t depart in January. The obvious solution would be to allow Markovic to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with a foreign team come the new year.
However, Liverpool should try and encourage interested parties to bid a small amount of money in January in order to secure his services.
If they can get £1million for him, while saving on a few more months of his wages, then it will be a good deal for the Reds. Plus, the team buying would secure his signature and have him involved in their team straight away rather than in the summer.
It simply makes no financial sense for Markovic to be allowed to stay on Merseyside for any longer than he has to. The club should have ensured his sale this summer, and now they face having to convince buyers of his worth in January.
Liverpool have built a title-winning squad, and players like Markovic simply have no place in it. The club needs to continue trimming the fat, and the Serbian must be forced out the Anfield exit door come January.
