What happened to Serbia prodigy – who Liverpool signed for £20m and top manager compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – as his country prepare to face England at Euro 2024 without him

When England kick off the 2024 European Championship season against Serbia on Sunday, a number of household names will face Gareth Southgate’s side.

The likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dusan Tadic and Djordje Petrovic will all be familiar to Premier League fans, not to mention their star man, Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic.

But despite their undeniably talented squad, a former Liverpool star might well have been his country’s biggest footballing export had his career gone the way it once seemed to.

After emerging from Partisan Belgrade’s vaunted youth academy, Lazar Markovic quickly made an impression in the club’s first team before being signed by Benfica in 2013.

Blessed with phenomenal technique, Markovic’s stock continued to rise in Portugal as he played an integral role in Jorge Jesus’ all-conquering side in the 2013/2014 season. He scored ten goals in nineteen league starts and won every domestic honor available to them.

But former Liverpool striker Lazar Markovic will not feature despite once being tipped to be his country’s best-ever player

With interest from a number of top European clubs and former Chelsea boss Avram Grant comparing him to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool’s £20million arrest of the 20-year-old was seen as something of a coup for the Reds in 2014.

He said: ‘I can say that apart from Ronaldo and Messi, Markovic is one of the best talents I have ever seen at the age of 19. It was excellent to work with him for six months.’

Unfortunately for Markovic, the move would not turn out as many expected.

Limited to just eleven Premier League starts in his first season, Markovic’s indiscipline would cost him as he was shown a straight red card and subsequently handed a four-match European ban for appearing to wave his fingers in a Basel player’s face .

Less than a year after arriving at the club, a six-minute cameo against QPR in May 2015 in his first campaign would ultimately prove to be his last competitive appearance for Liverpool.

From there, Markovic would make a series of loan moves, to Fenerbache, Sporting Lisbon, Hull City and Anderlecht.

Frozen at Anfield and forced to train with the under-23s, Markovic would eventually leave the club to join Fulham on a free transfer, almost four years after his last appearance for the Reds.

Claudio Ranieri had hoped to revive the attacking midfielder in a bid to save the Cottagers from relegation, but it would be in vain.

Markovic managed just one Premier League appearance at Craven Cottage before an injury ended his season and he was subsequently released.

Markovic arrived at Anfield to much fanfare when Brendan Rodgers was in charge

But he would be stuck after just one season and would be loaned out several times

Markovic currently plies his trade with Turkish top team Gaziantep and has not represented his country since 2016.

Now 30, Markovic spent three seasons in his native Serbia with his boyhood club before joining Turkish side Gaziantep, where he scored three goals in 28 appearances last season.

Markovic’s last appearance for his country came in 2016, and it doesn’t look like he will add to his 22 caps given the depth of talent in Dragan Stojkovic.