Marko Grujic trends as Liverpool hammer Lincoln City

Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic is trending after the Lincoln win.

The Serbian started and scored as the Reds put seven past their League One opposition and marched into the next round.

He was the first player Jurgen Klopp signed but has struggled to break through into the first team, spending time out on loan at Cardiff City followed by two years at Hertha Berlin.

That time in the Bundesliga has served him well but it appears as if he’ll have to make do with an emergency/cup role while teams are reluctant to meet Liverpool’s valuation of him.

Marko Grujic managed to impress fans and scored his first goal for the club during the 90 minutes he was on the field.

He is a decent passing option and is solid at the back. According to Transfermarkt, he played at the base of a midfield diamond that included Xherdan Shaqiri and Curtis Jones as the midfield two with Takumi Minamino at the tip of the diamond.

Divock Origi and Harvey Elliott were up front, in a formation that looks slightly dodgy. That defensive midfield role is one that suits Grujic.

The arrival of Thiago has added another roadblock on his path to a Liverpool squad role. With the Spaniard, Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the chances of the Serbian picking up many minutes is slim.

Even with Fabinho playing as an emergency centre-back, things don’t look good for him.

AC Milan and Atalanta have been rumoured to be interested in Grujic, but the noise around a deal to take him away has simmer down.

Even though Liverpool were playing League One opposition, the manner in which he stamped his authority and got a good 90 minutes under his belt would have been good for his reputation.

Whatever happens next for Grujic, at least he was able to enhance his reputation with that performance.