Liverpool Are Hopeful to Extend Lovren
By Paul Drake
As the international break ends, Liverpool are hopeful that Dejan Lovren will commit to a long-term future at Anfield.
Two Reds have already signed new long-term deals this season, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana. The newest Red looking to commit long-term is Dejan Lovren.
Andy Hunter of The Guardian reports that negotiations between the Croatian centre-back’s representatives have not gone well and both sides are currently at an impasse. Jürgen Klopp and Liverpool “want to secure the central defender on extended terms.”
Lovren and Liverpool
Since Lovren joined Liverpool in 2014 from Southampton he has averaged 25 appearances, scoring .5 goals, with an 84.7% pass accuracy, winning 57.3% of duels, and committing 3 defensive errors. These are fair statistics, not too great but not very good as well.
This season, Lovren sits right behind Reds defender Joel Matip, with a 540 and 514 player rating respectively. The 2015/2016 season Lovren finished third behind Moreno and Sakho. In his first season at Anfield, he finished a very distant second behind Martin Skrtel.
Like any player, Lovren is susceptible to inconsistency. Is Klopp willing to roll with that long-term?
Defensive Depth is Needed
It will be important for Klopp to lock down his back-line over the summer. Lovren could be a part of that plan or he could not, it depends on these negotiations. Chris Bascombe of the Telegraph says, “Liverpool are looking for another centre-half this summer, but that is because Klopp will want more strength in depth with the club likely to be in Europe.”
I have been writing this very same thing for a while now, the Reds must have a strong defense if they are going to compete with Europe’s best.
This season Lovren has been decent, I can’t say that he is always the wisest when it comes to decision making. Lovren tends to over react or get caught off guard and is forced to make sketchy decisions.
Currently, Klopp’s defensive options are Matip, Klavan, Lovren, and Leiva. Chris Bascombe is correct when he says, “Klopp will want more strength in depth,” because those options don’t scream “strength in depth!”
This will be a story-line that fans should pay attention to over the final months of the Premier League season, and during the summer. Stay tuned to Rush The Kop for more!
Next: Mahmoud Dahoud Interest Dies Dead
All statistics provided by Squawka.com