Rumour: Liverpool make £20m bid for Southampton defender Dejan Lovren

Dejan Lovren impressed mightily in his first year in England last season

Liverpool have made a bid of £20 million for Southampton’s want-away defender Dejan Lovren, according to the Daily Star.

Lovren moved to the Saints in the summer of 2013 and excelled on the south coast under the stewardship of Mauricio Pochettino. Lovren’s future has been under intense scrutiny however, particularly after the departure of Pochettino, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Luke Shaw. Both Lallana and Lambert joined Liverpool, while Shaw moved to Manchester United.

Liverpool are keen on bringing Lovren to Anfield as well, making him the third Southampton player to make the transition to Merseyside this summer. However,Liverpool face competition for Sanchez from Spurs and Arsenal, with Pochettino keen on a reunion with Lovren.

Lovren was heavily linked with the Reds before sealing a switch to Southampton, however, Rodgers and co. are still interested in taking on board the Croatian international. Lovren signed for £8.5m from French side Lyon in June, but is reportedly happy about a move to Liverpool.

Southampton reportedly turned down Lovren’s transfer request recently and are adamant that the Croatian international will stay on the south coast. Lovren however wants to leave for pastures new and is not planning to return for pre-season at St.Marys this summer.