Marko Grujic is staking a claim for a first-team place

Marko Grujic has no doubts he has the ability to make the step up to the level required from a Liverpool player despite just 12 minutes of action so far.

The 20-year-old midfielder agreed a £5.1m transfer in January but was loaned back to Red Star Belgrade for the rest of the campaign, helping them win the Serbian SuperLiga title.

Grujic has played in just 12 minutes of Premier League action so far

He put in some impressive performances in pre-season friendlies, scoring three goals, but has so far played just 12 minutes in the Premier League, coming on late in the 2-0 defeat at Burnley.

"The manager told me I'm a very talented player and I just need to work to improve myself," he said.

"Pre-season went very well for me, but that's just pre-season and now I need to adapt fully to the Premier League.

"But I've seen that I can work nicely with my team-mates, even against strong teams like Chelsea [in pre-season] for example, and that's what gives me confidence that I can do big things with Liverpool.

"When I came here from Serbia I knew I would have new steps in my career and that it would be hard.

"It was hard because it was a first pre-season with Liverpool and some training was harder than at my old club in Serbia, but every day I adapted more for this new kind of training and everything is good now."