It's certainly possible. However Smicer was never very quick. Markovic is rapid at full burst. He hasn't shown his pace much because he isn't very quick off the bat or over short distances (which is what you need to be when playing on the wing). He's the sort who gains pace with momentum. Running from deep would therefore suit his game much more.
Also Smicer joined us when he was about 26 - at his physical prime. Markovic is only 20, and should have plenty of time to add more muscle to his frame.
I'm not going to disagree with your entire post on this one point but I'd say that part in bold is completely wrong.
Whenever I've seen him on the international stage it's his pace over 10 to 30 metres which makes him dangerous. I'd rarely seen him at club level but, on those couple of occasions he did nothing over a distance.
He's not a rhythm runner - he's a power runner. This was summed up by his effort against Madrid when he made an incisive run straight through the centre against their midfield. By the time he made it to Varane he was actually slowing down rather than getting any faster which is exactly what a power runner does. Varane is as quick a CB as I've seen but Markovic actually looked like Carra by the time he reached him.
I think Markovic shows very good touch and control. He's also got good pace though he's not Henry and going to run away from people the further he travels. For me the problems with him just now are two.
1. He doesn't work nearly hard enough - particularly without the ball and, more particularly, when he loses the ball.
2. He has a tendency to run down blind alleys - reminiscent of Diouf in some ways which is very concerning.
One seems easily corrected with some coaching - it just needs to be drilled into him that he has to work, work, work. The other is more difficult and probably accentuated by playing on the wing. I would imagine this is why his best position is in the middle where he has more options. If he runs down a blind alley out on the wing he can be isolated but in the middle he has more opportunities.
Now that you've raised it I'm keen to see next time he plays what sort of awareness he has when he's got the ball at his feet. I always remember Rafa going nuts about Baros and his propensity to look down and not see what was going on around him when he had the ball at his feet.
I think there's plenty of talent in there - it's just a question of whether it's usable talent or does he need a little more time in order to be effective. He's not going to get that time in England so, for me, that's the key question regarding his value for us.
