Marko Grujić Expected to Be Frozen Out at Liverpool After Failed Exit
By Tom Gott
Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujić is facing the possibility of playing no senior football until January at the earliest after failing to seal a deadline day move away from Anfield.
The 24-year-old, who has spent most of his time as a Liverpool player out on loan, was expected to be shipped on permanently during the summer but was thought to be close to a loan move to Werder Bremen towards the end of the window.
Talks collapsed late on, and according to the Evening Standard, this was all due to financial reasons, with his wage and Liverpool's demands likely proving too much for the German side.
The Reds were looking for a £20m fee to offload Grujić - they also wanted something similar for fellow remainers Xherdan Shaqiri and Harry Wilson - and this quickly proved too high for any interested side this summer.
For Grujić, it means that he is facing the possibility of playing no football for the next few months as a result of squad registration rules.
Liverpool are only permitted to register 17 non-homegrown players, but with both Grujić and Shaqiri staying, the Reds actually have 18 such players on the books. With Liverpool's abundance of midfielders and comparative lack of attacking options, Grujić is seen as the likely casualty.
Wilson, who is also on the periphery of the squad, is blessed by the fact that he is a homegrown player and could still be used in both league and European games to help make up the numbers.
There is still a chance for Grujić to make the squad, but that would only come if 18-year-old Dutch centre-back Sepp van den Berg leaves the club on loan - the EFL window remains open for another ten days - but that is not thought to be on the cards.
As a result, Grujić may be restricted to sporadic appearances for Liverpool's reserve side until January, when a move away from Anfield will surely be one of the Reds' top priorities.