Liverpool FC Transfer News: Reds Linked to Lazio Enforcer

Over the international break, Liverpool have been linked to a pair of defensive midfielders. First was Porto's prodigious young talent Ruben Neves, an 18-year-old who has already captained his side in the Champions League and could cost as much as £30M.

Shortly afterwards came links to Granit Xhaka, with Bild suggesting a £20M deal was all but done for the 23-year-old Borussia Monchengladbach star. Now, there's a third defensive midfielder being thrown into the mix, as Gazzetta dello Sport claim the Reds are in for Lazio's Lucas Biglia.

The clear theme would seem to be that Liverpool plan on strengthening the base of midfield in January, and a lot of fans will be nodding along to that notion given Lucas Leiva is the club's only true holding midfielder and new manager Jürgen Klopp has a preference for the double pivot.

While Xhaka and Neves both fit the mould of Liverpool targets under FSG—young and exceptionally talented players likely to only go up in value despite a high fee—Biglia is something different. The big difference being that at 29 years of age, he's actually a year older than Lucas.

Meanwhile, Lazio have reportedly slapped a £20M-plus price tag on the Argentine. With his age and that kind of lofty valuation, it seems quite entirely safe to say that Biglia won't be arriving at Anfield any time soon. In fact, the smart money is that the link is the work of Biglia's agent.

That's because Biglia is currently only making around €25k per week with Lazio and there are reports in Italy that alongside the supposed Liverpool interest, the player wants to double that number. Negotiations between Biglia's representatives and the club are expected to begin in the coming days.

Clearly it would put them in a stronger position if Liverpool were after the player, especially given that in the richer Premier League Biglia could expect wages starting at triple his current pay packet. And it's probably best to view the Biglia to Liverpool rumours in that light.

Liverpool need to strengthen at the position, and a few recent links at least make sense. Biglia doesn't, especially not at upwards of £20M, and that his agent is about to begin contract talks with Lazio makes it hard to see the rumours as anything more than a negotiation tactic.