What future holds for Jurgen Klopp's first signing at Liverpool?

Bengaluru, April 7: There are very few managers in the world who beat the current Liverpool boss in terms of success in the transfer market. The German maestro boasts a sensational record of making the right transfers both as the manager of Liverpool and prior to that at Borussia Dortmund. Almost each of his signings has been successful be it an expensive one or a bargain.

The German has an exceptional eye for talents. He signed a Blackburn Rovers reject at Borussia Dortmund who eventually went on to become one of the greatest strikers in the modern era. Yes, we are talking about Robert Lewandowski.

There have been several such low-profile signings by Klopp who went on to become world-class players but when it was needed, he also never hesitates to make big-money deals like Virgil van Dijk or Alisson Becker.

Klopp's transfer record at Liverpool has been quite phenomenal but his first-ever signing at Anfield is yet to prove himself as a success. Marko Grujic became the first signing of the German at Liverpool in January 2016 as Liverpool beat the likes of Internazionale, Juventus, Chelsea, and Milan for the signature of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup-winning Serbian.

However, after four and half years of his signing, the 23-year-old is yet to establish himself at Anfield but calling him a flop would still be a premature and wrong conclusion.

Jurgen Klopp is known for his exceptional patience in his players. And to be fair, Grujic has not done anything to be already branded a flop at Liverpool. Since he signed for the Reds, he has played just 14 times for the Anfield club and most of them have been from the bench.

He is still only 23 years of age and is developing pretty well on loan. He has been with German Bundesliga side Hertha BSC since the summer of 2018 on loan and is a key player at Olympiastadion.

The Liverpool midfield is right now very strong as well as very deep. They have players like Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Gini Wijnaldum, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and James Milner as senior options in the middle of the park from which it is evident how much quality Klopp has at his disposal in the middle of the park. And despite all his talent and quality, Grujic making the Liverpool squad next season does not look likely unless Liverpool part ways with any of the above-mentioned names.

But if Grujic can keep his patience for a bit longer and keep up his development on loan, he can claim his stake in the Liverpool midfield in two years as James Milner is already 34 years of age now. There have been speculations regarding the future of Wijnaldum as well although he has been the most picked midfielder of Klopp since he was signed from Newcastle.