Lazar Markovic has had something of a mixed career to date. Signed by Liverpool for much fanfare two and a half years ago, he has played only 19 times for the Reds and has spent much of that time out on loan at the likes of Fenerbache and Sporting. He now faces arguably the biggest challenge of his career - keeping a struggling Hull City side in the Premier League. Still only 22, does he have what it takes to save the Tigers from relegation and earn the chance to make an impression back at Anfield? Let's take a look.
(To make this a little realistic, I've started this from the January transfer window, rather than the start of the game.)
So we can see that Hull are taking on a tricky attack-minded player, with strengths in pace, movement, crossing, dribbling and technique - everything you look for in a winger. He lacks a little in the tackle and in the air, and his stamina could be better, but it isn't he end of the world. And how has he got on in the season so far?
Two goals and two assists in nineteen games for club and country - while he's performed well for Serbia in his three games, his club form (at least in the league) leaves something to be desired. How are Hull getting on when he joins them?
The answer is not well. Just one win so far leaves them nine points away from safety. Not impossible, but a big ask in anyone's book. Is Markovic the man to save them?
Let's skip forward to the end of the season and see how our young playmaker has got on...
First things first - crossing, decision-making and movement have all dropped by one. Everything else seems to have remained the same, so Hull still have a very good player on their hands. With those skills, how has he performed?
Safe to say he has done well, playing some part in 13 of the Tigers' remaining 17 Premier League games and becoming a key player in the process. He scores more goals and provides more assists than in the first half of the season, despite appearing in five less games overall, and his overall rating is 0.34 better than at Sporting. Not bad.
And crucially, last but not least, has he done it? Has he helped keep Hull up?
In short, no. Despite them picking up five more wins in the second half of the season, Hull are still comfortably the worst team in the league, needing 15 more points to save them. It's worth noting that his time on Humberside has caused Markovic's value to drop by over half from £20million to £9.5million, and I would not be surprised to see him make a quick return to the top flight.
What do you think? Is Lazar Markovic the right sort of player to keep Hull up? Or is he one too many stepovers and not enough substance?
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Lazar Markovic has had something of a mixed career to date. Signed by Liverpool for much fanfare two and a half years ago, he has played only 19 times for the Reds and has spent much of that time out on loan at the likes of Fenerbache and Sporting. He now faces arguably the biggest challenge of his career - keeping a struggling Hull City side in the Premier League. Still only 22, does he have what it takes to save the Tigers from relegation and earn the chance to make an impression back at Anfield? Let's take a look.
(To make this a little realistic, I've started this from the January transfer window, rather than the start of the game.)
So we can see that Hull are taking on a tricky attack-minded player, with strengths in pace, movement, crossing, dribbling and technique - everything you look for in a winger. He lacks a little in the tackle and in the air, and his stamina could be better, but it isn't he end of the world. And how has he got on in the season so far?
Two goals and two assists in nineteen games for club and country - while he's performed well for Serbia in his three games, his club form (at least in the league) leaves something to be desired. How are Hull getting on when he joins them?
The answer is not well. Just one win so far leaves them nine points away from safety. Not impossible, but a big ask in anyone's book. Is Markovic the man to save them?
Let's skip forward to the end of the season and see how our young playmaker has got on...
First things first - crossing, decision-making and movement have all dropped by one. Everything else seems to have remained the same, so Hull still have a very good player on their hands. With those skills, how has he performed?
Safe to say he has done well, playing some part in 13 of the Tigers' remaining 17 Premier League games and becoming a key player in the process. He scores more goals and provides more assists than in the first half of the season, despite appearing in five less games overall, and his overall rating is 0.34 better than at Sporting. Not bad.
And crucially, last but not least, has he done it? Has he helped keep Hull up?
In short, no. Despite them picking up five more wins in the second half of the season, Hull are still comfortably the worst team in the league, needing 15 more points to save them. It's worth noting that his time on Humberside has caused Markovic's value to drop by over half from £20million to £9.5million, and I would not be surprised to see him make a quick return to the top flight.
What do you think? Is Lazar Markovic the right sort of player to keep Hull up? Or is he one too many stepovers and not enough substance?
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