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He may still be something of an unknown quantity to Liverpool FC fans, but Lazar Markovic’s “enormous potential” could see him take the Premier League by storm.

European football expert Andy Brassell watched Markovic light up Benfica last season and expects the 20-year-old Serbian to have a similar impact at Anfield.

The Reds have tied up a £20m deal for the forward - and Andy believes they might have landed a bargain.

“If he has a good season, it will seem pretty cheap pretty quickly,” he said. “He’s one of the very best young players in Europe, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. He’s got an uncommon gift.

“I think a lot of people were expecting him to come to Benfica last season and just dip a toe in. Benfica are extremely strong in midfield, but he managed to come out on top and play a lot of games.

“The potential he has is absolutely enormous.”

Markovic was signed by Benfica from Partizan last summer and helped lift the gloom around the Estadio da Luz following a campaign which saw the Lisbon club come agonisingly close to winning three trophies.

Benfica lost their first league game of the 2013-14 season to Maritimo and were heading for a second successive loss - against Gil Vicente - before Markovic’s late intervention. He scored and set one up to kick-start the Lisbon giants’ campaign. Soon after, a fine solo goal against city rivals Sporting further endeared him to the fans.

“He looked the business right from the start,” said Andy. “For him to come in and to have the personality to impose himself on what was quite a fragile squad was quite impressive.

“Maybe it’s hard for an English-based audience to perceive, but the size of Benfica is enormous and every game is a huge, huge pressure. For him to have the balls to deal with that is quite impressive at that age.

“It’s clear there is work to do but there is huge potential to work with. You’ve got a player that, despite the fact he’s only just turned 20, is able to grab a game by the scruff of the neck in a way not a lot of players can. It was obvious from his first outings.”

Markovic’s versatility will have been noted by Brendan Rodgers. The Serb is naturally right-footed but is comfortable using his left and can operate in a variety of attacking positions.

“He plays in an inside-right role a lot of the time,” said Andy. “He’s got playmaker skills but is sometimes deployed in a wide area. He can play as a number 10 as well. That’s where he’s most effective - in central areas - but you could have him on the left cutting in, or on the right cutting in.

“He’s so technically gifted. The fact he’s got the mental ability to go with it is what makes him such an incredible prospect.”

Andy, who cites Markovic’s modest goals record as the area of his game which needs most improvement, says the Serb will be sorely missed in Lisbon.

“They would have liked to have kept him for another season but it’s part of life in Portuguese football,” he said. “The fans would love him to stay but they know that’s not realistic.”

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