Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren is reportedly out of the club’s Super Cup clash with Chelsea due to ‘illness’ as he nears a transfer to Roma.
The Evening Standard report on the Croatia international edging closer to leaving the Reds for a move to Serie A, while the author has tweeted about the player missing tomorrow night’s game.
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See below as David Lynch hints Lovren’s absence is not actually ‘illness’ as he says in inverted commas, with the 30-year-old looking set to move to the Stadio Olimpico in a £15million deal.
Dejan Lovren out of #LFC’s Super Cup squad with “illness” as he edges closer to a £15m Anfield exit. Jürgen Klopp willing to sanction a move due to faith in Fabinho’s ability to play centre-back and youngsters Sepp van den Berg and Ki-Jana Hoever.https://t.co/8BkUOgSUbq
— David Lynch (@LynchStandard) August 13, 2019
Liverpool fans may have some cause for concern at this news, with Jurgen Klopp’s squad lacking depth at the back once Lovren goes.
The Merseyside giants will have to rely on Virgil van Dijk staying fit after playing a lot of games at a high level for some time now, while Joel Matip and Joe Gomez don’t have the best injury records.
Still, £15m for a fourth choice centre-back isn’t too bad and LFC may well feel midfielder Fabinho can also drop back into defence if absolutely necessary.
Sure many will disagree, but personally don't think £15m for Lovren is smart business considering how injury prone Matip and Gomez have proven to be during their Reds careers. Especially as Gomez is also Trent's right-back backup. Hoever/Sepp are 17 – not realistic options yet.
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) August 13, 2019