Liverpool relent as Italian suitors close on signing of Dejan Lovren
Dejan Lovren is on the brink of bringing the curtain down on his five-year stay at Liverpool after the Reds accepted a reported £15m offer from Roma for the Croatian defender.
The form of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez last season meant that Lovren was restricted to just 18 appearances in all competitions and rumours have been rife all summer that he could move on.
AC Milan were initially linked with the former Southampton man, but it seems Roma have won the battle to sign him with Times journalist Paul Joyce reporting that the capital city side are “in talks” with Liverpool and that a deal is possible for around £15million.
The Croatian has been a long-term target for Roma sporting director Gianluca Petrachi with an intermediary now understood to be negotiating a possible transfer on Liverpool‘s behalf.
And it claims an agreement is close to being reached between Lovren and the Serie A side, with reports in the Italian media claiming he has agreed an initial two-year deal with the option of a third season.
Jurgen Klopp would prefer to have retained Lovren’s services, but is understood to have relented after a personal request from the player to be allowed to move on.
The Reds brought in talented Dutch youngster Sepp van den Berg this summer and it is thought he could be effectively promoted to fourth-choice centre-half in the wake of Lovren’s departure, with the versatile Fabinho another option to fall back on should the need arise for Liverpool this season.
Lovren has played 170 times for the Reds, but remains a somewhat divisive figure among supporters.
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