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We didn't even manage to get through half a season of Lazar Markovic playing for Benfica before he ended up linked back to Chelsea again. But that was to be expected -- with Partizan Belgrade's management insisting that the 19-year-old was merely hanging out at the Estadio da Luz 'on loan' from Chelsea, it was surely only going to be a matter of time before the talk started up again.
O Jogo aren't giving the full story on their website for some reason, but what we can see is the claim that Markovic is heading to Chelsea for a fee of €15 million -- significantly more than what Benfica apparently paid for a share of his rights last summer when they signed the youngster to a five-year-deal*. Is this plausible? Sure. Everything about the teenager's career so far has been a little bit strange, and this wouldn't exactly be coming from out of left field.
*Fifty percent of his rights are owned by notorious football agent Pini Zahavi.
I'm not sure Markovic is anywhere near ready for a spot at Chelsea, mind you. He's failed to seriously impose himself on the Primeira Liga (possibly because he's been fielded as a winger too often), and you'd expect a player of his talents to have make more of an impact at this level. If the Blues really do have a move lined up, it's not going to help us for quite some time.
