Report: Liverpool Leads Race for Croatia World Cup Star Domagoj Vida
Liverpool officials are preparing to fly out to Turkey in order to finalize a deal for Besiktas defender Domagoj Vida, who starred during Croatia's miraculous World Cup campaign.
Vida was incredibly important for Croatia as the team managed to reach the World Cup final, and his performances have led to interest from several Premier League clubs.
Turkish outlet Milliyet have reported that Liverpool officials are expected in Istanbul in the coming days to complete a deal with Besiktas. Both Everton and West Ham are believed to be interested in the 29-year-old center back.
Everton is yet to register an official bid with the Turkish giants, while West Ham's initial offer of around £20m falls short of Besiktas's asking price for Vida, which is set at around £27m.
Besiktas is looking to raise money and reduce their expenses, meaning they are open to selling Vida, but will only do so for the right price. Club president Fikret Orman has confirmed that Vida has been the subject of several offers, but refused to go into detail about the offers.
According to the The Daily Express, Orman recently said: “We signed Vida for free, he’s now played a World Cup final and obviously it has resulted in a lot of interest. There are lots of offers for him but that does not mean we will definitely sell him."
“It would be wrong of me to reveal how much has been offered but if Vida wants to leave we will consider the best offer.”
Following Liverpool's acquisition of Roma's Alisson, in what was a world record deal for a goalkeeper, Jurgen Klopp is believed to be keen to continue reinforcing his defense. Should Vida join Liverpool, he would join up with his Croatian center back partner, Dejan Lovren.
Vida made 18 appearances for Besiktas last season after joining from Dynamo Kyiv in January.
