Roma have reportedly switched their focus back to Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren as it appears unlikely that they’ll prise Daniele Rugani away from Juventus.
The 30-year-old has been with the Merseyside giants since 2014 and has gone on to make 170 appearances for the club.
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Although he has slipped down the pecking order behind the likes of Joe Gomez and Joel Matip in recent times, there is an argument that the Croatian international still has a key role to play at Liverpool by offering quality depth for Jurgen Klopp in the event of injuries as they look to compete on multiple fronts.
However, speculation continues to link him with an exit before the summer transfer window deadline in Italy, as Calciomercato report, via the paper edition of Il Messaggero, that after failing with a loan swoop for Rugani, Roma have switched their focus back to Lovren.
It remains to be seen if they have left themselves enough time to reach an agreement with Liverpool over a fee and formula to the deal, while they also have to agree on personal terms with the defensive stalwart too.
In turn, the deal still appears to be far from done, but Liverpool boss Klopp could have a key decision to make in the coming days in terms of either allowing Lovren to move on to secure a more prominent role in the Italian capital, or keeping him on board to play an important role in his squad this season.
From Roma’s perspective, they still need to add experience and steeliness to their backline after losing Kostas Manolas to rivals Napoli this summer.
While they did sign Gianluca Mancini from Atalanta, they shipped three goals in their opening-weekend 3-3 draw with Genoa on Sunday, and so that would suggest that they need a player like Lovren to help them shore things up at the back still.
