Steven Gerrard’s name and number are still – and likely always will be – addressed with nothing but reverence at Anfield. One of Liverpool‘s latest midfield additions, Serbian teen Marko Grujic, plans to honor the legendary Reds captain with his future shirt number – just as long as he doesn’t take the immortal number “8”.
According to Vlastimir Stevanovic from Serbia [per the Metro], Grujic stated in an interview that he hopes to wear either No. 35, No. 88 or some other number that can be related to “8” when he finally gets to join the Liverpool first-team.
Grujic “No one could bear the weight of Gerrard’s No 8! Not even players from Real. I’ll wear 35 or 88. Or something related to no 8.” #LFC
— Vlastimir Stevanovic (@vlstastevanovic) January 30, 2016
Grujic “I can’t wait to start training with LFC. I’m so happy to have signed for them.” #LFC
— Vlastimir Stevanovic (@vlstastevanovic) January 30, 2016
Grujic doesn’t rule out the possibility of wearing No 8 for LFC in the future. But he wants to start with 35 or 88 and work his way up. #LFC
— Vlastimir Stevanovic (@vlstastevanovic) January 30, 2016
Grujic signed with Liverpool on January 6, 2016 for a transfer fee of £5.1 million, but was loaned back to Red Star Belgrade until the end of the 2015-16 season.
Last year Grujic led Serbia to the FIFA Under-20 Championship title in a 2-1 win over Brazil. He made his debut for Red Star Belgrade when he was just 17 and scored five goals in 21 Serbian SuperLiga appearances last season.
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