![\"Liverpool](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1_2018-Liverpool-Players-Awards-Red-Carpet-Arrivals-Anfield.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLiverpool spent \u00a320m to sign Lazar Markovic, who turns 32 today, but Michael Edwards considers signing the flop his biggest regret<\/p>\n
Michael Edwards is now in place as FSGs CEO of football and the de facto head of Liverpool FC on a day-to-day basis (Image: Peter Byrne\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n
Liverpool have a successful record when it comes to transfers in recent years. Yes, you could argue that Federico Chiesa’s switch has not fully worked out to date, but the Reds only paid an initial \u00a310m for the Italy international, who despite his limited opportunities, is still a fan favourite.<\/p>\n
Chiesa<\/a> was the sole signing of Arne Slot<\/a>‘s first summer in charge but 12 months later Liverpool<\/a>, fresh from winning the Champions League<\/a>, splashed out more than \u00a3400m to bring in a group of players who have already justified or are beginning to justify their huge price tags, like Hugo Ekitike<\/a> and Florian Wirtz<\/a>, while others, like the \u00a3125m British transfer record capture Alexander Isak<\/a> and the highly rated Giovanni Leoni<\/a>, have just had rotten luck.<\/p>\n Indeed, there is complete confidence at Anfield<\/a> that all the players brought in last summer will be successes.<\/p>\n OPINION<\/p>\n But before Slot’s arrival, how many unmitigated flops did the Reds really sign under Jurgen Klopp<\/a>\u2019s watch?<\/p>\n Naby Keita, Thiago Alcantara and Calvin Ramsay were plagued by injury, while the likes of Fabio Carvalho, Takumi Minamino, Sepp van den Berg, Dominic Solanke, Marko Grujic and Ben Davies were all low-cost and sold for considerable profit.<\/p>\n Arthur Melo, Ozan Kabak and Steven Caulker were all emergency loan signings brought in when the club\u2019s hand was forced by absences elsewhere, returning to their parent clubs after limited impact.<\/p>\n And while the club-record \u00a385m signing of Darwin Nunez did not live up to initial expectations, he still played his part over three seasons, including last time out, when the top-flight title was lifted for a record-equalling 20th time.<\/p>\n That arguably leaves Loris Karius as the only signing unable to boast an asterisk next to his name, with the German cursed by his horror show in the 2018 Champions League final.<\/p>\n Even then, what is a small number of players you hoped for more from, against the much larger number of success stories that have led the club to every major honour?<\/p>\n But prior to Klopp\u2019s arrival at Liverpool<\/a> in October 2015, the Reds\u2019 record was prone to being rather more hit and miss. And one of the biggest flops under owners FSG was the \u00a320m signing of Lazar Markovic<\/a> from Benfica.<\/p>\n He had shone for the Portuguese outfit in 2013\/14, winning the domestic treble of Primeira Liga, Taca de Portugal and Taca da Liga, having already won back-to-back league titles with Partizan Belgrade in his native Serbia.<\/p>\n But he struggled during his time at Liverpool, making 34 appearances and starting 23 times – returning three goals and an assist – before quickly being discarded by Brendan Rodgers<\/a> after a failed attempt to utilise the forward as a wing-back.<\/p>\n Dismal loan switches to Fenerbache, Sporting Lisbon, Hull City and Anderlecht followed, with Markovic remaining surplus to requirements under Klopp, before Fulham were persuaded to sign the winger on a free transfer in 2019 by Cottagers and Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.<\/p>\n Markovic’s fortunes did not improve at Craven Cottage though, as he left after making just one appearance in six months to return to Partizan Belgrade.<\/p>\n Rebuilding his reputation in his homeland, Markovic also made an impact in Turkey with Gaziantep and Trabzonspor. But he now plays in Cyprus for Apollon Limassol after a spel in the United Arab Emirates with Baniyas Club.<\/p>\n The Serb celebrates his 32nd birthday today, with his career certainly not living up to those initial expectations when Liverpool parted with \u00a320m for the then 20-year-old back in the summer of 2014. So where did it all go so wrong?<\/p>\n Dr. Ian Graham, Liverpool\u2019s former director of research, concedes that Markovic was just not as good as the scouting reports at the time suggested when he was being touted as \u2018the hottest young prospect\u2019 across Europe.<\/p>\n In his book, \u2018How to Win the Premier League<\/a>: The Inside Story of Football’s Data Revolution,\u2019 he revealed how the Reds\u2019 sporting director at the time, Michael Edwards<\/a>, considers signing Markovic as his biggest regret, with Liverpool even changing how they assessed serious transfer targets following their experience with the Serb.<\/p>\n \u201cMarkovic looked quite good in our data analysis but we had seen limited minutes: the Portuguese league was not fully covered by our suppliers back in 2014,\u201d Graham wrote. \u201cMarkovic\u2019s fee of \u00a320 million was very high too – that summer, Antoine Griezmann signed for Atletico Madrid for \u20ac30 million and Sadio Mane signed for Southampton for \u00a311.8 million.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in every scouting department in Europe, Markovic was the hottest young player of the 2013\/14 season and our own scouting reports were very positive.<\/p>\n \u201cEddy (Michael Edwards) was not sure what to make of the conflicting information, so watched 20 games on video himself. He saw some very good performances but also some very bad ones.<\/p>\n \u201cYoung players can be variable in quality, so some games are to be expected. In retrospect, the problem was that the games where Markovic was scouted happened to be his best performances of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cThis led to our scoring reports being too optimistic in their estimate of his abilities. Scouts at other clubs felt exactly the same way: upon signing Markovic, many other clubs in Europe congratulated us in a way that we never again experienced for any other signing.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cLazar Markovic did not tick nearly every box but was the hottest young prospect in scouting departments across Europe. The manager didn\u2019t really rate him, and played him out of position at wing-back, but they were secondary issues.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main problem was that he wasn\u2019t as good as we\u2019d thought. Eddy knew that he was not an outlier in our statistical readings. His video analysis had also shown a player much more variable than the scouting reports implied.<\/p>\n \u201cEddy cites signing Markovic as his biggest regret, but at least we learned from the experience. This was the failure that led to an extra layer of detailed video analysis being added for every serious transfer target Liverpool considered from that point on.\u201d<\/p>\n So Markovic is arguably Liverpool\u2019s self-confessed biggest transfer flop.<\/p>\n But the Reds at least turned such an experience into a positive, with the Serbian inadvertently playing a decisive role in all of the club\u2019s successful signings over the past decade after prompting the aforementioned change in the club\u2019s scouting set-up in the first place.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_GettyImages-2264036564.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Author](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/johnaldridge.jpg\")
John AldridgeREAD MORE: Arne Slot gives new Florian Wirtz injury update and issues caution over returning Liverpool star<\/a><\/p>\n