Liverpool’s ‘sell a star each summer’ policy has continued, with Raheem Sterling’s long-awaited move from Anfield to Manchester City having been confirmed. Although a talented youngster, the Reds are seemingly happy with the £49m fee received, albeit £5m will come in add-ons, and Lucas Leiva has even talked up the club’s ability to adapt to life without the 20-year-old in a much better fashion than they did when Luis Suarez slipped away to Barcelona year ago.
Although it could be construed as bitterness on Merseyside, there is some bulk to suggestions that Sterling won’t truly be missed. His potential is almost immeasurable, but his performances were often hot and cold, and his finishing left much to be desired. Plus, Brendan Rodgers already has ready-made replacements to slot in, both in terms of age and skill set. Jordon Ibe has been described as the ‘new Sterling’ already, but perhaps more intriguing is the impact the whole episode could have on Lazar Markovic.
The Serbia international is just 21, and after a difficult debut season is seemingly primed and ready to go in 2015/16 – he even scored within minutes of the club’s pre-season kicking off on Thailand on Tuesday!
He flew under the radar somewhat over the course of the last year, but Lazar is set to shoot to the top… and here are FIVE reasons why.
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Using pre-season well…
https://vine.co/v/erBX21LiLmz/embed/simple
Okay, we’ve seen 45 minutes of Markovic against a Thailand ‘All Star’ side who may appear out of their depth on a Sunday morning on Hackney Marsh, but the young Serbian was impressive. Deployed at the tip of a midfield diamond in a first-half 4-4-2 set-up, the 21-year-old linked well with newbie Danny Ings (up top with Rickie Lambert), often breaking beyond the forward line to get himself into dangerous positions – as he did for the opening goal in Bangkok (above).
We can’t read too much into the clash in Asia, but Markovic himself appears a more steely and resilient character, and the fact that the two XIs for each 45 minute half were pretty clearly divided into first choice and second choice (Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Martin Skrtel came out after the break) it all suggest that the ex-Benfica man has some work to do to force himself into the upper end of the pecking order. Some more tidy performances in Australia and Malaysia may be enough, and Markovic seems up for the fight.
The tricky debut season is out of the way
In music the second album is often described as the difficult one. However, in the world of football it’s alwaysÂthe debut compilation that causes the most heartache, and aside from two headline-grabbing ‘tracks’ – Sunderland away and Spurs at home – Markovic’s 2014/15 release was very much an underwhelming, Travis-esque offering.
To steer this back towards football, it was always going to be a tough 12 months for young Lazar. Going through the transition into adulthood, Markovic was led away from the familiar surroundings of Partizan Belgrade to Benfica, where he stayed for just one season, before Liverpool came calling – in two years so much changed for the young man.
As well as the off-field aspects of the beautiful game, the Eastern European was often crowbarred into a struggling Liverpool side at wing-back, and the aforementioned woes of Rodgers’ troops saw the pressure cranked up from the word go.
But with the transition now over (well, hopefully for Markovic) the wide attacker has experience and know-how in the Premier League, and is sure to have developed a thicker skin in terms of playing style which will help him with the physical demands.
Rodgers seems to have faith in him
“As for Lazar, he was playing in a position in the first half just behind the front two and he broke forward really well and it was an excellent finish.
“I thought the attitude of all the players was excellent. As you say Lazar, first year adapting as a really young player to a big club but hopefully in this second year he can really push on. I was pleased for all the new players that played.â€
Rodgers (speaking above) is well aware of the struggles his youngster went through, but it appears that the Northern Irishman is confident that he’s come through the other side and will be a stronger player for it. As well as this, reports from the ever reliable Liverpool Echo have claimed that Markovic will not be allowed to leave, either on loan or on a permanent basis, this summer, so 2015/16 looks to be a campaign in which he’ll get chances to impress.
Well suited to the system
In the summer of 2014 Markovic was widely hailed as the one Liverpool wanted. Despite the lavish fee paid for Adam Lallana and the headline-grabbing nature of Mario Balotelli, the young Serbian was the player generating the most hype behind the scenes at Melwood. His debut season didn’t quite justify the £20m fee it took to land him, but all of the tools are in place for the player to build on his potential, and he appears to be an excellent fit on Merseyside.
Although widely seen as a winger, Markovic is adept in a ‘No.10’ role or as an inside forward, which will be of use to Rodgers if he deploys a hybrid of the 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 systems, while his pace and tenacity make him useful in a pressing, transition-based system.
Sterling’s exit also frees up space, albeit the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana, Roberto Firmino and Jordon Ibe will also be in the running.
Plenty of games
The Europa League may be viewed as a hindrance, but with Liverpool into the group stage there is the guarantee of at least six extra games. Rodgers will not be able to rely on the same XI players in domestic and continental action, so he’ll have to rotate his options, which is likely to see Markovic get game time both at home and abroad.
