The Liverpool ace has been linked with a move to AC Milan in recent weeks.
John Barnes suggested that he wouldn’t blame Dejan Lovren for leaving Liverpool this summer, when speaking exclusively to The Sport Review.
The Croatia international, who earns £100,000 per week according to Spotrac, has recently been linked with a move to AC Milan, with Italian football expert Gianluca Di Marzio claiming that the Rossoneri are keen to bring the Reds centre-back to the San Siro this summer.
Lovren joined Liverpool from Southampton in the summer of 2014, for a fee believed to be worth £20 million, according to BBC Sport, and he has gone on to make 170 appearances in all competitions for the Merseyside outfit.
The 29-year-old has played second fiddle to Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip recently, however, and with just two years remaining on his contract, it might just be the right time for the Reds to cash in on the centre-back.
Barnes told The Sport Review how he would respect Lovren if the Croatia international left Anfield in search of more regular action:
“If Lovren feels that he’s not going to be playing anymore and he wants to play first-team football, fine. I quite like him at Liverpool because if players get injured, he can step in and do a good job. But players sometimes think to themselves that they want to play first-team football so therefore if he leaves, I’ll have every respect for him, rather than him just staying at Liverpool in the comfort zone.”
Lovren is said to be valued at around £25 million by Liverpool, according to the Times, and that would surely be considered as good business for the Merseyside outfit, taking into account the fact that he is set to turn 30 before the start of the new season.
And with Joe Gomez now back from a long-term injury, Jurgen Klopp will have plenty of options to choose from in central defence next season, even if Lovren does leave.
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