Although he struggled to make his mark in Turkey during his season long loan spell, according to the Turkish media outlet AMK, Fenerbahce are looking to hang on to Liverpool winger Lazar Markovic for another season. While no one is quite sure what the future holds for the talented 22-year old, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that he’ll be given a shot during their run of pre-season matches.
“We had a little talk about things. I said at the start of pre-season you will be very welcome and then it’s up to you,” said the German boss when asked about Markovic back in March. “That is how it is in football. It’s a long pre-season and if he wants to come back to Liverpool in July he’s welcome,” he continued. “We are short on wingers. Everybody who is involved in pre-season can have a part to play next season. We need a big squad because of the European Championships,” explained Klopp. “Pre-season is a long time to show what you have and then after this we’ll make decisions.”
Having finished runners-up to eventual champions Besiktas in the Turkish Super League — but, most importantly, an astounding 23-points ahead of eternal rivals Galatasaray — the Yellow Canaries will be looking to go one better next time around. Now, whether or not Markovic will be able to help them along the way seems to depend on whether or not he can stay fit. The Serbian winger hasn’t feature since the middle of February with a string of muscle injuries keeping him out of 20-matches for Fenerbahce this term.
Having made it into only 14-league outings, it’s safe to say that he hasn’t got the experience or the game time he left Liverpool looking for; scoring only twice and providing three assists along the way, there’s a chance that Markovic may want to stay at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium next season — he might have a point to prove in the Premier League after underwhelming during his first season in England, but there’s little chance he’s going to make it if he can’t do it in Turkey first.
