Lazar Markovic has just joined his 9th club in 9 years since Liverpool failure

Lazar Markovic has represented nine different clubs in the nine years since his last Liverpool outing, with his latest move an unexpected one.

“I can say that apart from Ronaldo and Messi, Markovic is one of the best talents I’ve ever seen at 19 years of age.”

Those were the words of former Partizan Belgrade manager Avram Grant around the time of Liverpool’s £20 million deal to sign the winger from Benfica in 2014.

Markovic only spent one season in the first team at Anfield, though, with his 34 appearances in the 2014/15 season under Brendan Rodgers heralding three goals and one assist.

A lack of confidence in his ability saw the Serbian loaned out to four clubs in the next three seasons – Fenerbahce, Sporting CP, Hull and Anderlecht – before joining Fulham on a free transfer.

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His career since has been that of a journeyman, with a return to Partizan followed by spells in Turkiye with Gaziantep and Trabzonspor.

The now 30-year-old has just joined his ninth club since leaving Liverpool, that being FC Baniyas in the UAE Pro League.

Baniyas are now managed by Joao Pedro Sousa, who was assistant to Marco Silva during Markovic’s half-season loan stay at Hull in 2017.

The Abu Dhabi side, whose president is the deputy prime minister of the UAE, finished 10th in the 14-team UAE Pro League last season.

It is a move few would have predicted when Markovic first swapped Portugal for England 10 years ago, having been feted as one of the best young talents in world Football.

Some would argue that he was barely given a chance by Rodgers, who was under pressure in his role as manager at the time, as he often found himself deployed at wing-back.

But there was little change in fortunes upon Jurgen Klopp‘s arrival in 2015, making a matchday squad only once under the legendary boss – that being as an unused substitute in a League Cup win over Leicester in 2017.

Markovic has played 246 Games at club level in the past decade, with 40 goals and 34 assists.

Elsewhere, Liverpool’s plans for Stefan Bajcetic have been explained, with “plenty of clubs” interested.