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At just 17, Lazar Markovic stood out from the crowd.

It wasn’t the long, jet-black locks that caught the eye – and it certainly wasn’t his 5ft 9in frame either.

No, it was what he could do with a football that stood out.

A 12-year-old product of Partizan Belgrade’s highly-acclaimed Youth School Belin academy, the same academy that boasts Manchester City duo Stevan Jovetic and Matija Nastasic among its alumni, Markovic’s development since then has been rapid.

A move to Benfica last year followed an impressive stint in Serbia and it was interpreted at the time as a strategy to keep star man and national team-mate Nemanja Matic happy.

He joined a slew of Serbian players in Lisbon but there was a rousing rawness in his game that stood out there too.

Even then, Markovic was billed as a global star in the making and in his single season at the Estadio da Luz he produced moments of magic that suggest he has every chance of making good on the hype.

Tor-Kristian Karlsen has seen his remarkable growth first-hand. A scout and executive, the Norwegian was most recently CEO at French powerhouse Monaco and has previously worked as a scout for Grasshopper Zurich, Watford, Bayer Leverkusen, Hannover 96 and Zenit Saint Petersburg.

As one of Europe’s top scouts, he is renowned for getting it right.

And in Markovic, he believes Liverpool have a potential gem in their laps.

“His technical ability stood out and even at just 17 he effortlessly slid past opposing defenders,” Karlsen said.

“His one v one skills were breathtaking already back then.

“There’s no doubt that Markovic belongs to a select group of top European talent.

“I know Liverpool fans appreciate a technically gifted player and they will get just that with Markovic.

“They’ll also learn to love – all going to plan – his ability to take on defenders and his eye for a defence splitting ball.”

Lazar Markovic in pictures:

Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, much like Brendan Rodgers, has an eye for flair. Markovic has that in abundance but the Serbian deserves credit for his mental strength too.

In December the player had a dip in form, which was to be expected given his age. Raheem Sterling went through something similar after he announced himself as one of England’s brightest talents two years ago.

Indeed, Markovic had his critics and there were calls for him to be dropped but Jesus stuck by the youngster.

And while Karlsen believes there are facets in his game that will need to be improved, he reckons Liverpool are the club that will allow him to flourish.

“As for any foreign player wanting to make an impact in the Premier League, Markovic will need to move more off the ball, both in terms of making himself available and to look for space,” he added.

“And obviously he would need to track back to cover defensively to a much higher degree that he’s used to.

“While I don’t think he’ll have any problems adapting, the pace and intensity of the Premier League can be quite overwhelming at first.

“Compared to the relatively pedestrian Portuguese game, one gets so little time on the ball in he the Premier League.

“I don’t think the magnitude of the challenge will faze him at all; he’s already played the Belgrade derby and top matches in Portugal and Europe.

“There’s always a slight concern that foreign players will end up not settling in to the Premier League, but for me the key factors are the intrinsic quality and the potential of the player.

“Liverpool may have forked out more than £20 million for Markovic, but we’re talking about a player that was monitored by all the top clubs in Europe and what they are paying is the going rate for the top talents.

“If Markovic delivers on his potential, he’ll eventually be worth at least twice as much.”

The left-winger has always seemed on track for a move to the Premier League ever since the early days when Karlsen saw a raw 17-year-old in action. But it is somewhat a surprise he finds himself at Anfield rather than Stamford Bridge.

It seemed Chelsea would always be his destination, so much so it was twice erroneously announced he’d joined in the past three years only for denials to follow.

It was even suggested that the Reds’ move for him this summer could have been hijacked, with suggestions the Londoners would take advantage of a reduced fee of 15 million euros.

Yet, here he is on Merseyside and Karlsen is adamant Brendan Rodgers played a key role in convincing him to make the switch.

He said: “Rodgers is a tactically flexible manager and he seems to enjoy working with players that can cover several roles offensively.

“In that respect, Markovic suits him well as he’s not a traditional winger but a tactically smart forward who likes to get involved in the build-up play and switching positions.

“If I’m not mistaken, I believe that Chelsea had the first refusal to buy the player but his playing style and physical profile may not have been ideal for Jose Mourinho’s “power football”.

“I’m sure that Brendan Rodgers’ track record in promoting and giving confidence to young players – as well as his reputation for playing attractive football – was a huge contributing factor for Markovic’s decision to join Liverpool.

“The backing of a manager is extremely important in order to adapt to a new type of football and I’ve no reason to doubt that Rodgers will take great personal responsibility to ensure that the club will get the most out of this highly promising player.”

If Karlsen’s expert opinion isn’t quite enough to whet your appetite on the Reds’ bright prospect then a fellow ex-Benfica star, the man Markovic was brought in to support, should do so.

Matic, now of Chelsea, said: “What can I say about our Markovic? It was excellent playing with this fantastic kid for six months.

“He has such massive potential that if he changed his attitude in training he could be one of Europe’s best players in his position.

“But he’s young, he’ll mature, and then nobody will be able to stop him!”

And nobody could stop Liverpool from getting their man – not even Chelsea.

More on Markovic:

Brendan Rodgers has brought the Serbian wonderkid to Anfield - but what will he bring to the side?

Serbian with an "uncommon gift" can be an instant hit says European football expert Andy Brassell