Dejan Lovren Eyed by Roma With Liverpool Star's Agent Flying to Italy to Discuss Move
Roma have switched their attentions towards Liverpool's Dejan Lovren after seemingly losing hope in their bid to sign Toby Alderweireld from Tottenham.
The Serie A side had been pursuing a deal for the Belgian defender this window after selling Kostas Manolas to Napoli, who joined their Italian rivals on a five-year deal for a fee of €36m (£33m).
That has prompted a shift of approach, with Roma now apparently exploring the possibility of signing the Liverpool centre half. With Alderweireld out of their price range, Sportitalia’s Alfredo Pedulla has claimed (via Football Italia) that they are now looking at the Croatian - previously of interest to Milan - who is supposedly valued at just €20m (£18m).
The Reds have been fairly inactive this window, with just youngster Harvey Elliott and fellow teenage prospect Sepp van den Berg joining the Merseyside outfit thus far.
It was previously stated that even with the arrival of another centre back, Liverpool had no interest in selling Lovren this window, despite becoming something of a peripheral figure last season, as injury problems saw Joe Gomez and later Joel Matip overtake him in the pecking order alongside regular starter Virgil van Dijk.
However, if the reports from Italy are to be believed, then the 30-year-old's agent Bjorn Beemer is expected to land in Italy imminently, where he will look to resolve the Croat’s future.
Clive Brunskill/GettyImages
Lovren only made 11 Premier League starts with a further four in cup competitions last season, and following Van den Berg putting pen to paper, a move to the Italian capital may entice the Champions League winner given the likely opportunity of first team football.
Nevertheless, with Jurgen Klopp stating on numerous occasions that his side won't spend big this summer, one could also assume that was said with the idea of keeping his squad intact and therefore not requiring to replace outgoing stars.
