Grujic to become Liverpool's new No.8
Marko Grujic is on the verge of becoming Jurgen Klopp's first signing at Liverpool and is to wear Steven Gerrard's old No.8 shirt, according to Red Star's sporting director Zvezdan Terzic.
Grujic, 19, confirmed earlier this month that he had spoken to the Reds, and the Red Star Belgrade midfielder is now set to move to England at the end of the season for around £5 million.
Terzic told Serbian TV that Grujic will sign by Christmas, agreeing a five-year contract and a salary of 1.2 million a year, while he also insisted that the youngster would take Gerrard's famous shirt.
"We will, in the next three days, sign a contract with Liverpool," Terzic said. "Marko Grujic will sign a five-year contract with Liverpool where he will have a 1.2m annual net income, which means that he will have 6m from Liverpool. He'll get No.8 on the back."
Serbia Under-21 international Grujic, a member of his country's squad when they lifted the under-20 World Cup last summer, was reported to have attracted the interest of Inter Milan, Chelsea and Manchester United.
As a box-to-box midfielder, he has drawn comparisons with Gerrard for his style of play and has scored five league goals this season as Red Star have established a 25 point gap at the top of the Serbian SuperLiga.
Grujic told journalists after his hometown club's 7-2 victory over second-placed Cukaricki this month that he wished to remain in Belgrade until next summer to help them to secure a Champions League place.
However, according to the Liverpool Echo, he will sign for Liverpool this week after undergoing a medical before being loaned straight back to Red Star for the rest of the season for a loan fee of around £730,000.
Source: ESPN
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