Paper Talk: Liverpool name their price for AC Milan target Lovren

Dejan Lovren, Jordan Henderson TEAMtalk

Liverpool have told AC Milan how much they will have to pay to sign Dejan Lovren this summer, while Tottenham are ready to cash in on two of their top defensive stars, according to Thursday’s papers.

 

LIVERPOOL SET PRICE FOR MILAN TARGET LOVREN

Liverpool have reportedly told AC Milan it will take a £17.5m bid if they want to sign Croatia centre-back Dejan Lovren this summer.

The Croatian has fallen out of favour at Anfield and it would appear that his time on Merseyside could be coming to an end.

The emergence of Joe Gomez saw the England international partner Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Reds defence in the first part of the season before Joel Matip took centre stage in the second half of the campaign after an injury to Gomez.

The looks to have signalled the end of Lovren’s time on Merseyside and according to Italian outlet Tutto Mercato Web, the Reds have asked Milan for £17.5million (€20m) to sign the 29-year-old.

Lovren is thought to be seriously considering his future, given his lack of game time, and former Liverpool striker John Aldridge believes he will move on.

“It would not be a surprise to me to see Dejan Lovren leaving Liverpool this summer,” he told the Irish Independent.

“He has certainly improved under the guidance of Jurgen Klopp and his coaching staff, while the presence of Virgil van Dijk alongside him has made a huge difference to a player who famously said he was one of the best defenders in the world after his performances at the World Cup last summer.

Dejan Lovren TEAMtalk

“I don’t think he is anywhere near as good as he thinks he is and Klopp clearly agrees, as he favoured Joel Matip ahead of Lovren for most of last season and young Joe Gomez is also waiting in the wings as a potential partner for Van Dijk.

“Lovren will be on big money at Liverpool and if the club are looking to free up some space on the wage bill, he may be a player urged to leave as I don’t see him getting too much first team football when Matip and Gomez are fit.”

 

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Bruno Fernandes’ agent has flown to England on Wednesday night to thrash out a transfer with Manchester United after agreeing a £100k-per-week contract (The Sun)

Nacho Monreal is being eyed by Real Sociedad as confusion reigns over the state of his Arsenal contract (The Sun)

Paul Pogba will reportedly hand in a transfer request to Manchester United to let him join Real Madrid in a huge £120m transfer (The Sun)

Barcelona are prepared to offer an array of stars, including Philippe Coutinho, in their latest push to sign Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar (The Sun)

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West Ham have placed a £40m price tag on Marko Arnautovic amid interest from a Chinese Super League club (The Sun)

Wolves look set to battle Arsenal for the signing of Gremio defender Walter Kannemann (The Sun)

Leicester have been told to pay £40m for Brighton defender Lewis Dunk (The Sun)

Arsenal’s transfer chiefs are prepared to appeal to owner Stan Kroenke in order to gain more funds in a bid to sign Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace (Daily Mail)

Callum Hudson-Odoi is hoping to return to Chelsea training by August, following an Achilles injury against Burnley in April (Daily Mail)

Ruben Loftus-Cheek is close to committing his future to Chelsea by signing a new long-term contract thought to be worth more than £150,000 a week (Daily Mail)

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Manchester United missed out on new Tottenham signing Tanguy Ndombele as they wanted more time to resolve Paul Pogba’s future (Daily Mail)

Philippe Coutinho is prepared to leave Barcelona to help facilitate the signing of Neymar – but Barcelona will need to sell Ousmane Dembele too if they are to pull off the transfer of the summer (Daily Mail)

Tottenham could sell both Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose to pave way for Ryan Sessegnon as the Fulham youngster remains likely to seal a transfer to North London (Daily Mirror)

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Arsenal are weighing up a second offer for Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha but are looking at alternatives including Porto’s Yacine Brahimi (Daily Mirror)

Juventus want to offer Paulo Dybala and €70m to Manchester United in exchange for Paul Pogba, but Old Trafford chiefs have demanded upwards of €150m (Daily Star)

Manchester United have made it clear to David de Gea that the new proposed £350k-per-week deal is the club’s last offer in their contract negotiations (Daily Star)

Harry Maguire has told Leicester he wants to leave as Manchester United and Manchester City continue their transfer pursuit (Daily Star)

Arsenal have made a move to sign Malcom on loan from Barcelona (Daily Star)

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers is closing in on the £40m club-record capture of Youri Tielemans, fending off interest from Manchester United and Tottenham for the midfielder (Daily Telegraph)

Frank Lampard has been told to decide on fringe players as he closes in on the Chelsea job (The Times)

Arsenal will launch their second bid for Kieran Tierney as they fear Napoli have stolen a march in the race for the Celtic star (Daily Record)

Arsenal have been linked with a move for RB Leipzig full-back Lukas Klostermann (Daily Record)

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Kilmarnock are set to make a loan move for Juventus keeper Laurentiu Branescu (Scottish Sun)

St Johnstone star Danny Swanson’s move to the MLS is under threat – after he was convicted of attacking a bouncer at an Edinburgh bar (Scottish Sun)

Kilmarnock have booted out a £500,000 bid from German outfit Nurnberg for defender Greg Taylor (Scottish Sun)