Young Portuguese ace seen as replacement for retiring veteran.
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Liverpool are lining up a summer swoop for Sporting Lisbon defender Tiago Ilori as a replacement for the retiring Jamie Carragher, according to the Daily Mail.
The London-born Portuguese under-21 international first broke into the Sporting squad two years ago but has featured prominently for the the club’s B team this season.
And despite the 20-year-old’s inexperience at top flight level, reports suggest that Brendan Rodgers has seen enough in him to believe that he would be able to handle the jump to the Premier League and remains ready to put an offer on the table to force Sporting to sell.
Ilori is blessed with a startling turn of pace and a versatility that can see him play at either full back or centre back, which is his primary position, and rumours are that Lisbon will let him go for as little as £1.2 million as they seek to ease their off field financial difficulties.
Liverpool had been interested in him since he made his breakthrough two years ago but decided to wait and see how the player developed before rushing into a move, but with Jamie Carragher retiring at the end of the season the club are in need of new defensive reinforcements.