Only days away from the start of the 2015/16 Premier League season, Liverpool do not have the squad they would like. While there are reports that the spending, similar in scale to what happened last summer, may continue, more interesting are the departures, or lack thereof.

It has been widely reported that at least three players (Mario Balotelli, Fabio Borini, and Jose Enrique) have been told that they do not have a future at Anfield, but as of now significant progress on their exits hasn’t been made.

An intriguing subplot in the development of Liverpool’s squad and first-team is the fate of a player that is not rumoured to be on his way out, yet must compete with a host of others to play in his favored areas.

Only a handful of Liverpool transfers have been more than the £20m Liverpool paid for Lazar Markovic, and when the Serbian arrived at Anfield fresh off helping Benfica to the Portuguese treble and the final of the Europa League, he sounded confident enough to persuade Liverpool fans he was worth the money.

“I went to Partizan and won the title. I went to Benfica and won the title. Now I have joined Liverpool and want to win the title, 100%.”

Of course it wasn’t to be, Markovic was expecting to join the fast-paced Liverpool side that scored goals for fun and nearly won the league, the team he watched every game of when playing in Portugal. And Liverpool expected a left-sided winger with pace, trickery and an eye for goal. Neither got what they wanted.

Markovic didn’t even start until September, in a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa that left Liverpool stuck in eighth place, already behind the pace and with their new signings not showing much. His contribution to the game was limited to a poor shot from distance, and his stamina didn’t look up to the level demanded by the Premiership. WhoScored gave him the lowest rating (5.97 out of 10) for any Liverpool starter that match, and his ratings for the season in which he scored twice and had one assist didn’t get much better. Philippe Coutinho, for example, someone whose creativity Markovic was expected to complement and assist, scored five times and assisted five times as well, with an average rating of 7.34.

Comparing the Serbian to two other players who are also left-sided attackers, Alexis Sánchez who is ostensibly his ceiling, and Yannick Bolasie who has to be seen as his floor, it is obvious how far he has to go before he can justify the price Liverpool paid.