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Lazar Markovic

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Lazar Markovic has set his sights on maintaining a unique personal record by helping Liverpool go one better in the Barclays Premier League this season.

The 20-year-old forward completed his transfer from Benfica on Tuesday after signing a long-term deal at Melwood.

He arrives with an already impressive CV, which boasts league title winning medals in each of his four professional seasons so far with Partizan and Benfica.

Moments after putting pen to paper on his contract, Markovic sat down with Liverpoolfc.com at the club's training complex to speak about his switch to Merseyside.

LFCTV GO subscribers can watch the chat with the Serbia international in full by clicking play on the embedded video below. Need a subscription? Sign up now. Alternatively, you can read the full transcript below.

Lazar, welcome to Liverpool Football Club. How do you feel to have signed for this club?

I am very happy that I have joined such a great club. I hope that I will fulfil the expectations of the supporters, coaches, players and all connected to the club.

What was your reaction when you found out Liverpool were interested in you?

I was delighted and increased my efforts in playing and training at the prospect of joining such a great club.

What was the biggest surprise in joining Liverpool?

Being asked to join! It is a surprise being here.

How exciting is the prospect of now getting the opportunity to play in the Premier League?

The Premier League is the strongest league in the world, and so I am very happy to be here.

And the Champions League, too. You must be looking forward to experiencing that?

I have already played in the Champions League with Benfica. It is superb that Liverpool are in it and I hope we will go far next season.

Have you had a chance to catch up with the manager, Brendan Rodgers? What has he said to you?

Nothing special. He told me what position I will be playing in the team and I am here to fulfil his expectations.

We know you can play in a few positions, but which would be your preference?

I do not mind. The left side is preferable, but I will play wherever I am asked.

What do you think you can offer Liverpool?

It is not my place to say, really, but hopefully my contribution on the pitch will show.

Liverpool had an excellent campaign last year, finishing second. Did you follow it from Portugal?

I watched every game and they played absolutely superb. It is a shame they did not win the title - but I hope we will win it this season.

Which players are you most excited to play alongside?

I could not favour any one of them. They are all equally good...but maybe the captain, Gerrard, as he is the team's leader.

You spent one season with Benfica, how important was that for you?

It was very important because if it wasn't for Benfica, I probably wouldn't be here. This is my opportunity to say thank you to all the players, president and all involved at the club.

You've won the league title in each of your four seasons as a professional. Which of those gave you the most experience and the basis to get here now to Liverpool?

There isn't one in particular, really. All were hard work and I benefited from each of them - and all of which have resulted in me being here today.

You have never played at Anfield before, how excited are you about the prospect of that?

I have seen what the players are like, I have seen what the supporters are like, and now I cannot wait to start playing there.

Have you spoken to your international teammates Matija Nastasic and Nemanja Matic, who play for Manchester City and Chelsea respectively, about playing in the Premier League?

I spoke to them both a couple of days ago and they are very happy that I am here, and I am looking forward to playing against them.

Finally, what would your message to Liverpool fans be?

I went to Partizan and won the title. I went to Benfica and won the title. Now I have joined Liverpool and want to win the title, 100 per cent.

He's the chatty type ain't he.
 
Or maybe... Maybe, if he's world class then we might be too and he'll stay for an extra six months!
United won the league and they still lost Ronaldo.
The Premier league just doesn't have the pull anymore.
It's better to expect it that's why Suarez leaving didn't bother me in the slightest.
 
United won the league and they still lost Ronaldo.
The Premier league just doesn't have the pull anymore.
It's better to expect it that's why Suarez leaving didn't bother me in the slightest.


Absolutely.

Although I'd say his chances of staying beyond world class-dom are improved now he's master of his own destiny. Very encouraging if the whispers of him turning down Chelsea are true, he's clearly got a decent head on his shoulders and wants to play football. If he's successful doing that here and we are successful as a club then he won't have much reason to leave.
 
Markovic missed Benfica’s Europa League final victory because of a red card he picked up in the semi-final. In injury time in the second leg against Juventus, Markovic, who had already been substituted at the time, received a straight red card for a touchline fight with his opponent Mirko Vučinić.
Liverpool fans will miss the commitment, fight and displays of passion that Luis Suarez brought to the field of play in a red shirt, but by the looks of things, Lazar Markovic has plenty of it too. With, hopefull, slightly less bite.
Despite missing the final, UEFA still rewarded his outstanding contribution by including him in the Europa League Team of the Year.

Nice.
 
[article=Chris Bascombe - Telegraph][/article][article=Chris Bascombe - Telegraph]

Lazar Markovic has seemed destined for the Premier League since he was a teenager, but it is somewhat of a surprise he finds himself holding aloft a scarf at Anfield rather than Stamford Bridge today.


All roads appeared to lead to Chelsea for the 20-year-old, so much so it was twice erroneously announced he’d joined the London club in the past three years only for hastily prepared denials to follow.

Markovic has even been quoted saying he is a Chelsea fan and revealed how he spent time in London in 2013 to meet club officials and tour the stadium ahead of a proposed move.
“It is true that I was on a tour of the city and the stadium ... and met people from Chelsea, but I have not signed any contract or pre-contract,” said Markovic at the time.“I had a great few days, however, it is far from being all done.”Even this summer, while Liverpool concluded negotiations for the right winger, suggestions Chelsea could pounce and take advantage of a significantly reduced fee of 15 million euros had cynics wondering if a Willian-style hijack was being prepared.

Instead, Liverpool have completed a £20 million deal following complex discussions with Benfica during which the thorny issue of third party ownership needed to be negotiated and overcome.Benfica only partly owned Markovic when they signed him from Partizan Belgrade last summer. He was half-owned by a players’ investment fund connected to the superagent Pini Zahavi.

Such third party ownership is banned in the Premier League but having flourished in South America it has become increasingly common and is perfectly legal across most of Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal where investment funds have prospered. Clubs such as Atlético Madrid, Porto and Benfica have found it especially beneficial – anyone who thinks Atlético Madrid’s success last year was a tale of the plucky outsider overcoming the superpower of Real Madrid and Barcelona should pay more attention to how they signed so many top class players.

As the Premier League rules dictate, Liverpool have taken full ownership rights of Markovic on completing the £20 million transfer, but the traditional notion of a ‘club to club’ transaction is rapidly becoming infrequent when signing the most coveted overseas stars.
In this country, the shadow of the Carlos Tévez affair looms large and the Premier League’s focus is on ensuring the clubs solely own players’ contracts. However, there are signs they are not being attentive enough to what is happening abroad and how it can impact on the competitiveness in England.
What if clubs are investing in overseas players, part owning them and benefiting from their increased value at a later date? Is it conceivable for English clubs to take shares in the most highly rated overseas players in the knowledge they can buy them at a cheaper rate later, or influence to whom they are bought and sold?
Is it perfectly reasonable for clubs to yield significant profits from transactions which, on the surface at least, they have no obvious connection?

Markovic is one of several Premier League bound players this summer whose ownership situation has only become clear now he is joining an English club. There was some confusion surrounding his economic rights prior to his arrival on Merseyside, an assortment of investment groups linked to him incorrectly.When Markovic signed for Benfica last summer, Partizan Belgrade’s club president Dragan Duric suggested it was a temporary arrangement.“Chelsea wants to loan Lazar to Benfica for two years,” he said.Eight hours later it was stated these comments had been ‘lost in translation’ with Markovic penning a five year deal in Lisbon.
The London club were again linked with a move for youngster during the course of last season but, instead, it is destination Anfield.

The Liverpool perspective on this is they have shown their intent in the transfer market and moved swiftly to beat several competitors to his signature.The club was prepared to pay a sizeable fee for one of Europe’s most highly rated players. They know third party investors have profited with Benfica but this is necessary to recruit such a promising and exciting youngster. No rules have been broken. This is the modern transfer system in operation, especially at the top end of the market.

For the curious, the feeling lingers that Liverpool have benefited because Chelsea have opted out of a deal that seemed to be going their way for three years.
Maybe the abundance of wide players already at Stamford Bridge, not least Willian and Mohamed Salah (both former Liverpool targets) is a logical explanation. Jose Mourinho may have his eyes elsewhere or simply not recognise the talent the Liverpool scouts have identified.
Markovic himself will know he is more likely feature regularly under Brendan Rodgers than Mourinho, who has so many more alternatives.Maybe this deal demonstrates the lure of Liverpool is so much greater now they are back in the Champions League.

Having missed out on so many targets that were diverted to Stamford Bridge, Liverpool fans will no doubt welcome a situation where – in stark contrast to those transfer disappointments during their Champions League exile – they have signed a player that was pursued for so long by their top four rivals.[/article]
 
From a Benfica friend

Being a benfica fanatic..he's considered to be the next big young star...he's a good player with lots of speed..On that note..he's still young and has a lot to learn and holds the ball to long so he tends to lose it..but if you give him space and he starts to take off with his speed and ability the defenses better watch out..if he gets a coach that can coach him right..he will become a star
 
Another one came out of the incubator/surrogate/whore what you want..

We're in the middle of the food chain, we feed the little ones and are eaten by large. We must always remember the place we occupy in this hierarchy.
 
Now can we see a Lazar is da man youtube collection?

Even though it is spoiling my S team
 
From a Benfica friend

Being a benfica fanatic..he's considered to be the next big young star...he's a good player with lots of speed..On that note..he's still young and has a lot to learn and holds the ball to long so he tends to lose it..but if you give him space and he starts to take off with his speed and ability the defenses better watch out..if he gets a coach that can coach him right..he will become a star

Good job he'll have Rodgers coaching him then.

He's arguably the best in the world at getting the most of young players given his record of the last 2/3 years.
 
Jan Hagen ‏@PortuBall
Fun fact on Markovic: Nicknamed A Borboleta[The Butterfly] by his teammates because of his size and that he was almost impossible to catch.
 
Jan Hagen ‏@PortuBall
Fun fact on Markovic: Nicknamed A Borboleta[The Butterfly] by his teammates because of his size and that he was almost impossible to catch.

I have seen loads of quotes from this bloke's twitter about Markovic.

He is not really a journalist or anything though is he? Freelance writer could mean anything. My mate is a featured writer on some internet footy site and has over 100,000 hits and he knows absolutely fuck all.

This lad seems to be based in Norway and an expert on Portuguese football. Do they show loads of it there?

Hope he is right obviously.
 
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