Italian Journalist Claims Liverpool Have Offered £25m for Atletico Madrid's Sime Vrsaljko

Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri has claimed that Liverpool have submitted a bid in the region of £25m for Atletico Madrid's Croatian full-back Sime Vrsajko - who is also a target for Napoli. 

The 25-year-old plays back up to first choice Juanfran and has fallen out of favour under boss Diego Simeone, meaning he is looking for a new challenge in his career. 

A deal for the full-back could see highly-rated youngster Joe Gomez move to centre-half on a more permanent basis - something that many Liverpool fans are eager to see. 

Vrsaljko earned himself a move to the Spanish capital following impressive performances for both Genoa and Sassuolo, although he has failed to land a starting place at his new club. 

Napoli had been heavily-linked with a move for the full-back in January following the long-term injury to Faouzi Ghoulam. However, club president Auerlio De Laurentiis claimed that after speaking to his opposite number at Atletico, it was made clear that a winter deal was not possible.

"I spoke to Atletico’s President [Enrique Cerezo] on the phone recently an he told me that he can’t give him to me now, but in June, because they have too many games."

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For Liverpool, the full-back area has been somewhat of a problem in recent years. Alberto Moreno continues to show signs of inconsistency, despite improvement this season, while summer signing Andy Robertson hasn't been given a proper chance to showcase his abilities.

With Vrsaljko capable of playing on both sides of defence, he could be the man to solve Jurgen Klopp's right-back issue, as Nathaniel Clyne is still out through injury and Trent Alexander-Arnold lacking experience to play in every match.