Liverpool FC Transfer News: Reds Refuse to Sell Markovic to Fenerbahce

Lazar Markovic’s loan spell in Turkey has been an uneven affair. He’s had a handful of nice moments, almost all of which have been passed around endlessly by Liverpool fans trying to convince themselves he’s exactly what the club are missing. He’s also, it has to be said, had a fairly middling return.

He’s only made 19 appearances and played a little more than 1000 minutes total for Fenerbahce. And that’s not a case of Fenerbahce playing less than Liverpool, as he currently stands 16th in minutes played at the Turkish club. Those same numbers at Liverpool would make him the 15th most utilised player on the squad.

In those 19 appearances, he has two goals and three assists, meaning he scores a goal or assist at a rate of 0.42 for every 90 minutes he’s on the pitch. It’s not a bad return, a little better than the likes of Jordon Ibe and Adam Lallana have registered at Liverpool, but given the weaker Turkish league it’s hardly stand-out.

Fenerbahce, though, believe Markovic has far more to his game than he’s shown so far in Turkey, and according to local paper Sabah, they not only refused Liverpool’s attempts to negotiate and early return for the player in January—they tried to purchase him outright, offering Liverpool £20M for the talented Serbian winger.

Liverpool, though, refused the offer, signalling that even if they were to offer more than Liverpool paid to bring him to England from Portugal two summers back, Markovic is in Jürgen Klopp’s long-term plans and is not for sale. Which is something that should make his many admiring Liverpool fans quite happy to hear.

Markovic clearly remains a work in progress, and one whose impact on the club’s fortunes this season would likely have been minimal had he stayed at Anfield. However, he does remain hugely promising, and all signs point to him being given a chance to impress in England next season.