Reds close to taking former Tottenham defender to Anfield.
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Liverpool are closing in on a agreement to sign Steven Caulker from Cardiff City.
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A source from the Welsh club told CaughtOffside an agreement to take Caulker to Anfield is ‘close’ to being finalised but will not be rubber-stamped until the end of the season.
It is thought to deal is not dependent on Cardiff being relegated and should be completed before the World Cup, regardless of the outcome of this Premier League season in which the two clubs still have plenty to play for at either end of the table.
Reds’ boss Brendan Rodgers has been a fan of Caulker even since the centre half spent a season on loan at Swansea in 2011/12 and the Northern Irishman was interested in signing him last summer.
Tottenham, however, were reluctant to sell to a club they considered a direct rival and Caulker joined Cardiff in a club-record deal for a fee which could rise to around £11m.
There have been discussions in the Spurs boardroom about an attempt to re-sign the England international this summer, with boss Tim Sherwood a huge admirer of the 22-year-old, who came through the ranks at White Hart Lane.
But Liverpool have taken advantage of the managerial uncertainty at Spurs to open talks with Cardiff and Caulker is desperate to join the likely Premier League champions.
Last summer, Rodgers claimed he had secured the Liverpool defence for a decade after the double-signing of Mamadou Sakho and Tiago Ilori but the latter has not played a single match and is currently out on loan.
Caulker will challenge Sakho for a spot beside Martin Skrtel next season, with Daniel Agger expected to be sold in the summer.