The technical leaders of Barcelona and their manager Ernesto Valverde want to strengthen their defence in the January transfer window if Samuel Umtiti is forced to spend the next four to five months on the sidelines.
Several potential targets have already been identified and Wednesday’s edition of Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo looks at one of them – Dejan Lovren of Liverpool.
The 29-year-old was the ‘undisputed starter’ for Croatia at the 2018 World Cup, where he played in each and every game in the FIFA tournament in Russia and was one of the standout players for his national team.
Lovren’s been restricted to one appearance each in the Carabao Cup and the Premier League, but the report does not take into the account that he missed preseason and the start of this campaign due to an injury.
Lovren’s contract at Anfield runs down in 2021 and Mundo doesn’t mention if centre-back or the Merseyside club are open to the idea of the transfer half way through the season.
For now, it looks like Jurgen Klopp’s defender is just identified as a target, with it being stated he’s ‘on the agenda’ for January.
One among many.
