The 29-year old defender has fallen out the regular line-up at the Anfield and could end up in Serie A this summer.
Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren after scoring his side’s first goal of the game during the Premier League match at Anfield, Liverpool. (Photo by Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
Dejan Lovren, the Croatian defender has established himself as one of the best defenders in the world with his performances at the 2018 World Cup, when he helped Croatia reach the historic appearance in finals. But despite his great performances, Lovren failed to live up to his name this season leaving the club and fans dissatisfied with what he brings to the table.
Since his arrival at Anfield in 2014, when Liverpool spent £23 million to sign Lovren from Southampton, he accumulated 166 appearances for the Reds. He has been a regular part of the team for the last years, however, injuries played a big part of this season, which also meant he failed to remain in the starting XI. As it stands now, Lovren has only 10 Premier League appearances this season. Due to his injuries, which started in July 2018, Lovren already missed 13 games for Liverpool, and while it’s true that the injuries played a big part in his lack of game time in Liverpool this season, it has also become clear he is not favoured at Anfield anymore, as he has been replaced by Joe Gomez and Joel Matip. While we saw Gomez suffering an injury, which gave Lovren a chance to prove his worth and with that claim a more regular spot in Klopp’s team, Lovren soon got injured himself, so the plan fell apart. Since Lovren lost his place as the key man in the Klopp’s team, it has been reported he is at the exit doors of Liverpool where there are 3 other clubs lining up to bring him to their ranks.
Daily Mail reported Lovren is wanted by 3 Italian giants; Roma, Napoli, and AC Milan. AS Roma and Napoli look to sign Lovren as a replacement for their defenders who are expected to leave the club, while AC Milan are interested in strengthening their squad by bringing in the Croatian player. AS Roma would like to bring Dejan Lovren as a replacement for their Greek centre-back Kostas Manolas, who is expected to leave the club this summer. On the other side, Napoli face similar issues with Kalidou Koulibaly who has been linked with numerous other clubs, including Chelsea and Manchester United and could as well leave Italy this summer. And lastly, the San Siro giants, AC Milan, who are considering reinforcing their backline with Lovren, who had an up and down season since the 2018 World Cup.
As it stands now, there is no clear winner in the race to sign the Liverpool defender, nor has Lovren expressed his desires where he would like to continue his career. While it’s possible Lovren could remain at the Reds, I do not believe that will be the case. Klopp is planning on reinforcing the club during the transfer window and if he could send Lovren to Italy, his budget would increase for approximately £20million. Additionally, all of the three Italian clubs would be more than happy to bring Lovren to the team, which is why I don’t believe either of them will back out of this transfer. While he was up and down lately due to injuries, Lovren has established himself as one of the best defenders in the world and a player any team would like to have among their ranks.
