Jurgen Klopp ‘on alert’, and Liverpool identify signing option, have chosen player

Stefan de Vrij to Liverpool is spreading around the Italian media, with SportMediaset having their say on Thursday.

The Dutch defender is currently in renewal talks with Lazio, and Liverpool interest has been slotted in with that.

SportMediaset claim: ‘The 12 goals conceded by Liverpool in the first seven Premier League games have put Jurgen Klopp on alert, who has called for a new central defender at the Reds. It seems that the English club’s chosen option is Stefan De Vrij , who has yet to renew the contract expiring in June with Lazio . This particular condition will lead Liverpool to attempt an assault on the market in January, especially if the agreement between the Dutchman and the Biancoceleste leadership still does not arise. But there is also a negotiation in case of renewal, especially if the clause should be around €25m, as the player’s entourage asks.’

Klopp being ‘on alert’ over the club’s defence would either mean he’s suddenly decided it’s an emergency or has been more panicked than he’s let on recently. Virgil van Dijk wasn’t the only quality option for Liverpool in the summer, and the more goals the team concedes, the more it looks like a signing should have been made.

On Wednesday, Sport Witness covered a claim from Tuttosport which said De Vrij is very close to a Lazio renewal, with the buyout clause set to be €30m, close to what his entourage have wanted.

In 2015, De Vrij suffered a serious knee injury which left him out for nearly a year, and then in October 2016 he fractured a metatarsal. Since then there’s been no serious injury problem.

Last season De Vrij made 27 Serie A appearances for Lazio, and this season he’s on 6 already.