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Liverpool are interested in Southampton centre half Dejan Lovren. Southampton centre half Dejan Lovren has handed in a written transfer request and Liverpool have made at least one bid for the player. That much seems certain. Today, Sky added a new layer to the mix by reporting that Liverpool made an £18M bid for Lovren this week.
If true, it falls short of the rumoured £20M it was previously suggested Liverpool had bid for Lovren—and that Lovren had believed would be enough for Southampton to let him go based on his conversations with the club's upper management. If true, it also falls short of Saints valuation of Lovren, which is believed to stand at £25M.
The 24-year-old Lovren is certainly a solid centre half, but after arriving in England last summer for £8.5M, it's difficult to see him being worth three times as much based on one solid season for a mid-table club. Even £18M would seem excessive to many, especially given Liverpool paid only £16M for Mamadou Sakho last summer.
Still, if Rodgers believes Lovren walks into Liverpool's starting eleven, there's a case to be made for him at £18M—even if few would suggest he has the same world class potential as Sakho. If Southampton truly can't be budged off their £25M asking price, though, most Liverpool fans will hope the club now moves on to other targets.
The other alternative would be to hold at £18M and wait to see if Lovren's desire to move and a lack of other Champions League clubs appearing likely to be in for the player leads to Saints eventually accepting a fee well below their valuation, but one that would still represent a massive profit on what they paid for him last summer.
