AS Roma have Dejan Lovren ‘in their hands’.
That’s how Corriere dello Sport start off their article on the matter on Thursday, making a big deal about the fact they have reached an agreement with the Croatia international over personal terms.
That, however, was never going to be the issue, as past reports already claimed the player was open to the move and was ready to lower his salary by around €1m/year.
The main problem for Roma is finding an agreement with Liverpool over the transfer, as the Premier League club want to offload the 30-year-old permanently, while the Italians would prefer a loan with a view to buy to save some money this year.
While they aren’t worried about his past injuries, they are aware he isn’t in peak physical condition after playing just 18 league games in all competitions last year, and spending €20m on an ageing defender with a lack of minutes under his belt is quite the gamble.
Corriere also explain that despite assurances Lovren’s pubalgia problems are behind him, a transfer agreement would see him undergo ‘all the necessary medical tests’ to avoid a repeat of the Thomas Vermaelen situation, one which saw the Belgian arrive on loan from Barcelona only to miss close to half of the 2016/17 season due to a similar injury.
Fool me once, shame on me…
