A move to a big club always seems to raise some eyebrows, for better or for worse. It’s usually for the good of the player in question and they always seem delighted to secure a move to that club. Their 32 out of 32 teeth glitter in their first interview,as they remark how quickly they want to get up and running. But moves to a massive club, don’t always pan out as well as it was expected to especially for young players. They find it hard to break into the first team and their development eventually stagnates to they end in the infamous ‘Lap of Tortures’ of the English media.
Lazar Markovic, the 20 year old who recently joined Liverpool from Portuguese giants Benfica has endured a similar time at Merseyside. Many would remember him from his tearing-apart act at White Hart Lane last season in the Europa League, which did succeed in raising the otherwise, hard to raise eye brows of the team he battered, their London rivals dressed in Blue and the team he has joined.
The Serbian has made just 4 Premier League appearances for the Reds, so far and this is nothing short of having a peek at the pitch in footballing terms. He has started just twice and has come on twice and has failed to make impact in their feared(that was how it was last season) play. He hasn’t had a dig at goal even once and his stats hardly seem to suggest how good he is.
After finishing second last season, Liverpool fans expect better than how things are shaping up to be, or that’s how they think. And doubts have been raised over Lazar’s credentials as a Liverpool player or those good old enquiries about”‘Is he good enough?” have not ceased to crop up. It’s fair to say that his talents and on-field abilities have been clearly overshadowed by criticisms and acrimonious debate surrounding his weaknesses.
Don’t forget that the man you’re quite keen to have a pop at is just 20 and has joined from the Portuguese League. Try running a search on Youtube about ‘Lazar Markovic compilation” and get set to end up being bamboozled by his speed and technique. He is lightning quick with the ball on his feet and his control forces you into thinking that the ball is glued to his feet. He’s known for his immense work rate, stamina and goal scoring ability from the midfield. A former Partizan youth academy graduate, Markovic made his debut at the tender age of 17 and believe it or not, he was voted the Player of the Year on the club’s website back in 2011.