English giants Liverpool will be all set to unveil Serbian hotshot Marko Grujic as their first signing of the 2016-17 season, the teenage midfielder's present club Red Star Belgrade said on Wednesday.
The Serbian side also revealed that they have accepted a €7 million (£5.1m) bid from the Reds for the highly-rated midfielder. Liverpool, meanwhile, also have to pay Red Star 10 percent of Grujic's next transfer fee, according to the clause of contract.
The 19-year-old thus becomes the first signing in the Jurgen Klopp Liverpool era, although he will join the Premier League side only on 1 July, 2016. For the moment, Grujic will be staying on loan at Red Star until the end of the season.
Red Star mentioned that it was financial woes that forced them to make the move. "Everyone at Red Star sincerely wanted Marko Grujic to wear our shirt for the next 10 years, but the financial situation of our club dictates that we have to make a different decision," they released a statement.
Grujic is currently a Serbia U21 international, and has five goals and seven assists from 21 games in the Superliga this season. The question now remains is whether Liverpool are seeing the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup winner with Serbia, as the next Steven Gerrard.
Only a day back, Red Star's sporting director Zvezdan Terzic told Serbian TV that Grujic, a box-to-box midfielder, will be inheriting Gerrard's No 8 jersey at Anfield.
