Reds match Southampton’s valuation, but Saint’s turn down offer anyway…
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Southampton have rejected a £20m bid from Premier League giants Liverpool for 24-year-old Croatian centre-back Dejan Lovren, reports Southampton based Daily Echo.
The paper claims that although Liverpool have matched the lofty valuation, the Saints have rejected their offer anyway, having already sold the Reds club captain Adam Lallana this summer for £23m.
Lovren is said to be desperate to leave St. Mary’s, having seen his manager Mauricio Pochettino, and teammates like Rickie Lambert, the aforementioned Lallana and Luke Shaw all leave the club this transfer window.
As a result, the defender is expected to be a no-show at pre-season in order to force a move away from the club. With four years left on his contract though, and Southampton having already turned away a very large bid for his services – the situation could become increasingly complicated before it’s resolved.
Last term, Lovren formed an excelled partnership with Jose Fonte at the back, and Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was impressed enough to make him the primary target to shore up Liverpool’s leaky defence.