Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic is a loan target for David Moyes’ West Ham United in the January transfer window
Promising Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic has emerged as a target for fellow Premier League side West Ham United in January, as per reports from ESPN.
The 21-year old Serbian signed for the Merseyside outfit from homeland club Red Star Belgrade back in January 2016, but joined Liverpool in July later that year, having spent the time in between on loan with Red Star.
However, ever since his arrival, Grujic struggled to break into the first team at Anfield on a regular basis. Since the start of the 2016/17 season, the midfielder has appeared just 21 times for the Liverpool first team under Jurgen Klopp, in which he has managed a solitary assist.
In the ongoing campaign, Grujic has taken the field for the Reds’ senior side on just six occasions (1 start) across all competitions, totalling up to 109 minutes of action.
Grujic is rated very highly by the Liverpool manager, but he too conceded last month that a loan move could be very well on the cards for the Serbian. As quoted by ESPN, Klopp said:
“I like the boy a lot. He has made progress like hell. His heading is outstanding, but he doesn’t make the squad a lot which isn’t the best thing for him, for sure.
“We will think about [a loan]. We always want to help the players.”
NEW: West Ham and Huddersfield have both expressed an interest in signing Marko Grujic on loan, writes @GlennPrice94 https://t.co/fwd2p7ZdAt
— Anfield HQ (@AnfieldHQ) January 11, 2018
This seems to have peaked the interests of West Ham United, who have now decided to throw their hat in the ring for the capture of the highly-talented midfielder.
David Moyes’ side find themselves placed on the cusp of the relegation zone, in the 15th in the Premier League table. And the former Everton and Manchester United boss is keen on bolstering his squad in the winter window, to boost his team’s chances of survival.
However, West Ham are not the only club who are monitoring the situation of Grujic, with Huddersfield Town also keen on the player. The Terriers’ manager David Wagner is understood to be a very close friend of Klopp and could use his contacts to try and sign Grujic temporarily. There has also been interest from EFL Championship side Aston Villa as well.
Given the abundance of options in the midfield at Klopp’s disposal at Liverpool, it is extremely unlikely that Grujic’s current situation would improve. And that is why, sending him out on a loan, preferably to a Premier League club would make perfect sense from both Liverpool and the player’s point of view.
