Liverpool sign Serbian teen Grujic from Red Star Belgrade

REUTERS – Liverpool completed a deal for Red Star Belgrade’s 19-year-old Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic on Wednesday in Juergen Klopp’s first signing since he took over as manager in October.

Grujic, who has played for Serbia at under-21 level and was a member of the under-20 squad that won the World Cup in 2015, will return to Red Star on loan to the end of the season.

The Premier League club did not disclose a transfer fee but British media reported it to be about 5.1 million pounds ($7.5 million) with the player said to be contracted to the club until 2020.

He has scored five goals in 21 league appearances for Red Star this season.

“We’re very pleased because Marko is a big talent and we’ve seen him a lot of times,” Klopp told the club’s website (www.liverpoolfc.com).

“When I came here, our scouts showed me some footage of a very skilled player from Red Star Belgrade.

“We watched it, we spoke to him, we met each other – he’s a good boy, a young boy but plays an important role at the moment at Red Star, who are the best team in Serbia.”

($1 = 0.6833 pounds)

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru, editing by Alan Baldwin)