Jurgen Klopp is reportedly eyeing another move for a Bundesliga player with Augsburg defender Ragnar Klavan close to completing a transfer to Anfield.
Ragnar Klavan joined Bundesliga outfit Augsburg from Eredivisie club AZ in July 2012 signing a two-year contract with the club. The Estonian international has since gone on to make 125 Bundesliga appearances for Augsburg over four years, and has been a regular starter for the club. The central defender has played a crucial part in Augsburg’s rise to the top half of the German league with the club recording its highest ever finish in the 2014-15 season qualifying for the Europa League. They managed to get past the group stages of the Europa League last season, but ultimately fell to a 1-0 aggregate loss to Liverpool over two legs in the Round of 32 tie.
Klavan made his senior international debut for Estonia in July 2003 against Lithuania at the age of 18 while he was plying his trade in the Eredivisie with Heracles. The Estonian has since gone on to captain his nation in many international friendlies and official matches racking up 108 appearances for the Baltic nation scoring 3 goals. Klavan made his 100th appearance during the Euro 2016 Qualification stage in a 3-0 loss to Switzerland.
The 30-year-old has had his fair share of individual and club success in the past. Klavan has won the Estonian league and Super Cup as his side Flora achieved the domestic double in 2003. The defender then went on to win the Eredivisie with AZ in 2008-09. Klavan is a triple Estonian Player of the Year winning the accolade in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
Liverpool will be looking to add depth to their back-line due to the departure of Martin Skrtel and Kolo Toure. Fresh injuries to Joe Gomez and Mamadou Sakho have been reported which seems to have forced Jurgen Klopp to look for an experienced centre-back to add to the squad. BBC have reported that the former Dortmund manager is looking to bring the Estonian to Anfield. The report states that a fee close to £4m has been agreed by Liverpool with Klavan’s club and that the central defender is set to complete the move within the next 48 hours. He will reportedly be signing a two-year contract with the Premier League club with an option for a further year.
The Estonian is vastly experienced, having played at the top level in Bundesliga over the last 4 years and Klopp would have taken note of the 30-year-old’s ability during his own time in Germany with Borussia Dortmund. Klavan has been consistent in his four years at Bundesliga clocking an average rating of 7.02 over his 125 league appearances for Augsburg (stats via WhoScored). If the deal goes through, it would be the German manager’s third signing from the Bundesliga, having previously signed Mainz goalkeeper Lorius Karius in a £4.7m deal and Joel Matip from Schalke on a free transfer.
Fans of both the clubs seem content with the imminent the transfer. The Liverpool fans are glad to finally get an experienced centre-back to provide cover for the long term injuries, while the Augsburg faithful are of the opinion that the club did well in getting £4m for the 30-year-old defender.
