Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool might want to keep Dejan Lovren for the coming season, although could be open to a sale if interested suitors can pay £25 million.
Liverpool’s strong finish to last season might prompt them to strengthen with specific players. However, there is an off-chance some of their established stars might want a move away from the club to play more next season. One such player is Dejan Lovren who is reportedly looking for a move away, and now The Mirror are reporting, Liverpool will not budge on their asking price of £25 million.
Since Lovren’s £20 million move from Southampton back in 2014, the Croatian defender been a regular at the back. However, since the arrival of Virgil Van Dijk, the defender has not been one of the automatic starters. With Jurgen Klopp preferring to pair Joel Matip or Joe Gomez alongside Van Dijk, Lovren played far less than he would have wanted to last season.
His time at Liverpool has been brandished with high-profile errors that have cost the team many times, but when called upon he has performed well, especially last season. He could only manage 13 appearances in the league last season while playing five more games in cup competitions, there is no guarantee he would receive regular playing time at the club next season.
Since the end of the season, speculation has been rife, and Lovren is linked with a move away to Serie A with AC Milan reportedly leading the few clubs interested in the Croatian. Liverpool had slapped a £25 million price tag on the 30-year-old defender. As the report claims, Liverpool are in no mood to negotiate on the price with suitors.
In fact, Klopp is skeptical about letting Lovren go even though he currently is Liverpool’s fourth choice centre-half. Klopp wants to do minimal business in the transfer window and wants to keep most of his existing players Lovren included. In the scenario of a sale, Klopp will have to scour the market for a replacement as he does not have anyone to cover or take Lovren’s place internally.
AC Milan might have their sights fixed on Lovren, but the defender is in no rush to leave Anfield, or so his latest comments suggest.
He said, “I’m glad that I’m here back. The vacation is over, it’s time to work and to get back on track where we stopped. We need to prepare ourselves for the beginning of the season because the schedule is quite tight when you look at it. We will play already for two big, major trophies [in August] so it’s a great opportunity for us and all the fans around the world.”
Do his words indicate he might prefer to stay put at Liverpool rather than pursue regular game time elsewhere? It may look like it, but in the scenario that a club comes in and matches Liverpool’s asking price, then the Reds might look to sell the 30-year-old defender.
Lovren clearly is behind in the Liverpool pecking order, and the players ahead of him have done nothing that will let Klopp consider the Croat again. A move may make sense for the player and game time, but there are hardly any clubs who would be ready to pay £25 million for a 30-year-old fourth choice central defender in the current market let alone AC Milan.
