Dejan Lovren hasn’t exactly shone in the Premier League with Liverpool – so would La Liga champions Barcelona really want him?
Barcelona are suffering from something of a defensive crisis right now. Thomas Vermaelen is set to miss the next six weeks through injury while Samuel Umtiti could be out until the New Year, meaning Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet are the only senior centre-backs at Ernesto Valverde’s disposal.
Now, Barca president Josep Mario Bartomeu admitted that the La Liga champions would look to bring in a new defender in the January transfer window, as reported by Marca, but few would have expected that Dejan Lovren would be on their wish-list.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the oft-criticised Liverpool centre-back is one name being considered by Barca in a move that will no doubt stun the Anfield faithful.
Former Southampton and Lyon man Lovren might have helped Croatia reach the World Cup final in July, but his four-year career at Liverpool has been marred by a number of high-profile mistakes.
And with Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk forming a formidable defensive partnership at the start of this season, it seems that Lovren has fallen down the pecking order under Jurgen Klopp.
So are Barcelona getting desperate?
Mundo Deportivo reported on Tuesday that Getafe’s Djene Dakonam (below), Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt and even former Chelsea man Branislav Ivanovic, now of Zenit St Petersburg, are also on Barca’s radar.
Barcelona have history when it comes to signing players from Liverpool but Lovren’s departure would not elicit the same emotive response as that of Luis Suarez or Philippe Coutinho.
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