The Reds are set to trigger a one-year extension to Dejan Lovren’s existing deal with the Premier League champions. However, Jurgen Klopp is still willing to sanction the Croatian international’s sale this summer amid interest from several sides in signing Lovren.
Lovren has been widely speculated to seal a move elsewhere with the 31-year old now being the fourth-choice center-back at the Merseyside club. With the rise of Joe Gomez as an excellent ball playing central defender in recent seasons, Lovren’s stock within the Reds has fallen substantially.
Moreover, 18-year old Sepp van den Berg was signed by Klopp last summer from PEC Zwolle as additional defensive reinforcement for Liverpool FC. The Dutch starlet has become an important part of the Reds’ U-23s side and has been tipped for a bright future as a senior squad member at Anfield.
With Lovren’s current contract with Liverpool FC set to expire next summer, a one-year contract extension would extend the defender’s deal with the Reds until 2022. This would allow the champions of England to fetch a greater transfer fee in the event of Lovren’s sale.
Recent reports had indicated FC Zenit Saint Petersburg’s desire of signing the Croatian international this summer. However, the Russian side were looking forward to landing Lovren at a cut-price deal due to the player’s contract with the Reds expiring at the end of the 2020-21 campaign.
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg will be forced to pay more to sign the center-back if a one-year extension is triggered in Lovren’s contract at Liverpool FC. The Reds would be hoping to pocket a sizeable amount of money on the 31-year old’s sale to finance Klopp’s desired signings this summer to bolster his title-winning squad.
Lovren had publicly admitted to being unhappy on being the fourth-choice center-back under Klopp at the moment. However, the Croatian international had insisted that he respected his manager’s decision and promised to work harder in training.
