Marko Grujic will spend a second season on loan with Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga, as Liverpool confirmed the deal after late Premier League interest.
Grujic made 23 appearances for the Berlin outfit last season, scoring five goals, and only injury kept him from further establishing himself as one of the league’s most impressive talents.
The Serbian will have the opportunity to do so in 2019/20, however, as Liverpool have sanctioned another season-long loan at the Olympiastadion.
Hertha are reported to have paid a £2 million fee to secure Grujic’s services, with the Reds turning down an advance from Brighton at the 11th hour.
This is Grujic’s fourth loan spell since joining the club in 2016, having spent the second half of that campaign back at Red Star Belgrade before heading to Cardiff City in 2018.
But it seemingly does not mean the end for his time at Anfield, as Jurgen Klopp is claimed to have told the 23-year-old he can play an important role in his squad from 2020/21.
Liverpool’s deal with Hertha is believed to also include a possible £500,000 in add-on bonuses, while Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, Eintracht Frankfurt and Atalanta are also credited with an interest.
So far, Grujic has made 14 appearances for his parent club, with his last outing coming as a late substitute in the 5-1 win at Brighton at the end of 2017.
Adam Lallana and James Milner could both leave Liverpool at the end of 2019/20, when their current contracts would expire, while Gini Wijnaldum‘s terms only run until 2021.
It may be that Grujic has been earmarked as a replacement for any of those three, though it still seems unlikely that, turning 24 in April, he would only then be deemed worthy of a first-team role by Klopp.
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