Cult hero's son now closer to DREAM Liverpool move

Who still remembers Milan Jovanovic? Those years at Liverpool feel like a fever dream.

Roy Hodgson being in charge. Liverpool struggling to make signings and identifying the likes of Carlton Cole as potential new arrivals.

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It was the Reds' banter era and amidst that time was when Liverpool signed Jovanovic. 29-years-old, he came from Standard Liege, where he was absolutely brilliant the season prior.

Impressive performances at the World Cup made us all believe Liverpool had signed a gem. Jovanovic was quick, he could beat his man easily and he scored goals. What more could you ask for?

Unfortunately, for Jovanovic things never worked out in a Liverpool shirt. Hodgson didn't trust him in his system and he never really got a chance.

In the minutes he did play, he averaged just 0.33 goal contributions per 90 minutes - his most memorable highlight was probably scoring an equaliser against Steaua Bucharest in the Europa League to salvage a draw for Liverpool in Romania.

Jovanovic didn't work out at Anfield but he has remained a bit of a cult hero and he still has fond memories of the place. That's something he has instilled in his sons as well, including Lazar Jovanovic, who could follow in his father's footsteps.

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In an interview with The Athletic, Jovanovic revealed that his three sons are all Liverpool supporters and wear the club's colours at home while they are playing football and dreaming of one day playing for the club.

“They’re very talented and ambitious with great potential. They have good coaches and I’m giving them some advice. I told them that their motivation should be that one day they could play for one of their favourite clubs," Jovanovic said.

“My older two boys went to kindergarten in Liverpool and have some good memories from there, they remember it. Lazar loves Mo Salah and Dusan likes Gini Wijnaldum, he plays in midfield like him. My youngest, Milos, prefers Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar.”

“Liverpool are the biggest club in England and they have lots of fans here in Serbia. In my house, we are fans of Liverpool and we cheer for Anderlecht and Standard too," he added.

And now that dream could be getting closer for his oldest Lazar Jovanovic.

The 18-year-old broke onto the scene last season after joining Red Star Belgrade. He caught the eye in the UEFA Youth Cup making four goal contributions in five matches, and then he was sent out on loan to Serbian top flight club OFK Beograd, where he established himself as one of the best young Serbian players in the league.

A brilliant dribbler and quick just like his father, Lazar averaged the third most successful dribblers in the opposition's final third among U19 players in Europe as per CIES, behind only Lamine Yamal and Mikel Gogorza as per CIES.

What sets Lazar apart from his father is that he likes to play on the right-wing and he's actually left footed, whereas his father was a right-footed left-winger.

During the second-half of the season, he made three goal contributions in three games for Serbia's U19 team during the qualifiers for the U19 European Championships.

Now it seems like Jovanovic has caught the attention of some of Europe's biggest teams. According to Mozzart Sport Stuttgart have agreed to sign him for €6m, which could turn out to be a massive bargain.

This would put the young man one step closer to his dream move to Liverpool. Signing for a club in Europe's top five leagues will draw attention towards him, especially at such a young age.

At Stuttgart, he will have an even bigger platform to showcase his ability and catch the eye of Liverpool's scouts.

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Considering the Reds may need a right-winger in a year or two, Jovanovic has a golden chance to make his mark and follow in the footsteps of not just his father but as Milan said above, his favourite player - Mohamed Salah.