Chelsea will have to fight off Liverpool in order to sign Benfica’s Lazar Markovic who made Brendan Rodgers’ wish-list for summer transfers. The 20 year old Serbian who has been on the Blues’ transfer list for a while now, moved to Portugal at the beginning of this season. He is under contract until 2018 which means signing him will be difficult.

Even if Benfica will agree to let their player go, Mourinho will still have to convince Markovic that Chelsea is the best option. It will not be an easy task especially if Liverpool claim Premier League glory. Anfield might also be more tempting because it offers players like Markovic a better chance of actually being part of a starting team. Chelsea have a lot of options when it comes to attacking midfielders so there are less chances for Markovic to become a team regular.

The Serbian became a first choice for both Partizan’s and Benfica’s managers right from the start. His skill and the fact that he had no actual competition allowed him to perform on a regular basis. Unfortunately it is hard to believe he will do the same if moving to Stamford Bridge.

According to Metro, Chelsea currently have the upper hand but things could change before the end of the season. With Liverpool set to start in next year’s Champions League and with Markovic being used to playing as part of the first team, The Blues might lose him to The Reds.