Anderlecht Want to Keep Lazar Markovic

Lazar Markovic arrived in Liverpool during the summer of 2014 in a £20M deal, at the time a quite significant transfer outlay for a 20-year-old winger some regarded as one of Europe’s brightest young talents. The results have not lived up to expectation.

Markovic first struggled for minutes at Liverpool, beset by injuries and often played out of position when fit. When he did get chances to play as a wide attacker, he underwhelmed. Loans at Fenerbahce, Sporting, and Hull City followed. None went especially well.

After spending the autumn back at Liverpool in the reserves, Markovic headed to Belgium’s Aderlecht in January. On paper, at least, it’s been another disappointing venture, all injuries and limited minutes—about 350 in total, equal to less than four games.

News that, apparently, Anderlecht want to keep Markovic around beyond the end of the current campaign is something of a surprise, then, but respected Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur claims that’s exactly what the club are now trying to do.

Further reports in the Belgian press claim contact has been made with Liverpool about extending his stay, and with Markovic’s Liverpool contract running until 2019 it’s possible a cut-rate move to Belgium this summer could even be permanent.

That’s because the alternative would be loaning him out again only to lose him for nothing the next summer—surely, then, if there’s a club out there willing to pay anything for him now, something would be better for the Reds than getting nothing.

Last summer, though, Liverpool also wanted to sell Markovic—permanently—only to be thwarted by their own demands as they priced any potential buyers for the 24-year-old winger out of the market. Hopefully, they’ve learned the lesson of that.

And even if they haven’t, Markovic could conceivably still end up back at Anderlecht, even if so far his time there hasn’t done anything to suggest he’s on the verge of salvaging his once promising career.