Although the belief is that Liverpool remain firmly in the market for another world-class defender to partner Joel Matip, news is filtering through that the Reds have re-opened contact talks with centre-back Dejan Lovren as they once again attempt to tie the Croatian down to a new long-term deal.
Earlier in the year Brazil star Philippe Coutinho and England midfield Adam Lallana both put pen to paper on lucrative new contracts, but talks with the 27-year old haven’t gone quite as smooth with the representatives of the former Southampton man shutting down negotiations a few months back. Going in to the business end of the campaign, Liverpool look on course to secure a spot in next season’s Champions League — something that has made their repeated invitations to sit back down and hash out terms all the more enticing.
That may bend you one way or the other depending on how you feel about the error prone defender, but Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has put his faith in Lovren and for the most part he’s responded in kind. Rumours are swirling that the German manager will be handed the the biggest transfer kitty in the history of the club this summer and though he’s sure to splash some of that on competition for the 27-year old, he could also allocate a couple shillings on bringing in highly rated Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic — a player that Lovren hasn’t been shy in saying he’d love to see on Merseyside.
“We players do not know anything about [transfers] until it happens. That’s always the case,” he told Croatian media outlet Sportske Novosti. “But a player like Perisic moving to Liverpool would be great. He is a top-quality player. At Liverpool, all the players would welcome him with open arms,” continued Lovren, keen to talk up his compatriot. “Obviously I do not know if it is true,” stressed the defender when pressed on the the Reds reported interest. “But what I can say is that he has exceptional football skills, knowledge and a higher than average quality.”
