Liverpool purchase Benfica’s stake in Lazar Marković

Liverpool are set to sign Benfica attacker Lazar Marković for a fee reportedly in the region of £20 million. The 20-year-old Serbian international will leave Portugal after just a season, after his club announced they’d sold their half of the player to the Reds:

The other half of the winger is owned by Benfica Stars Fund, so while the deal may not yet be complete, expect confirmation from Liverpool in the near future.

Marković has long been touted as a star of the future, and picked up his first international cap at just 17 years old. His strongest position is out on the right flank, where he established himself as a first-choice starter after Benfica snapped him up from Partizan Belgrade last summer.

Certainly Liverpool are taking a gamble in paying out so much for a pretty unproven and inexperienced player, though it has the potential to pay big dividends. In the wake of Luis Suárez’s departure from Anfield, there’s likely to be a slot out on the right to be filled this season. Marković will no doubt be hoping to make an immediate impact.