Markovic, the Liverpool winger, is just one of the many Partizan players to make it abroad

Dusan Trbojevic is into his sixties now, but he still clocks up not far off 20,000 miles a year. He is not the sort of man, you feel, who leaves any stone unturned. He goes to watch school matches, village games, any tournament he can find. Quite often, he says, he will park his car when he sees children playing in the street and watch for a few minutes, just to check, just in case.

Trbojevic is chief scout at Partizan Belgrade’s academy. Over the years, he has built up a network of spies, informants and contacts that stretches into every corner of Serbia and into neighbouring Montenegro. He will follow up a tip-off from anyone.

He learnt never to disregard any information after his