Liverpool Still Planning to Sell Dejan Lovren Despite Contract Extension
By Tom Gott
Liverpool are still considering parting ways with centre-back Dejan Lovren this summer, despite plans to extend his contract.
Lovren has just one year left on his current contract, but a recent report revealed that the Reds plan to trigger an option to add an extra year to his deal if he is still at the club by the end of the summer transfer window.
Well, Goal have thrown a spanner in the works. They state that the extension could come a lot sooner, suggesting it may have already been done behind the scenes, but that was likely done just to preserve his value.
Zenit Saint Petersburg are the latest side to be linked with Lovren and there have been rumours suggesting the Russian side wanted to use Lovren's expiring contract to negotiate themselves a major discount, with the idea of a free transfer even suggested, but Liverpool are not having it.
By extending his contract, Liverpool are now under no immediate pressure to sell and they have boosted their negotiating power as they can afford to wait another year if they don't receive a satisfactory offer this summer.
Roma have pursued a loan move for the Croatian recently, while there has also been interest from two unnamed Premier League clubs. Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have both been unconvincingly linked in the past, and there have also been rumours of interest from West Ham United.
If Liverpool's plan is still to sell, you have to wonder how much value they can add to Lovren by extending his contract by one year.
The 31-year-old is hardly going to command an enormous figure and buying clubs will be well aware of his discontent and struggles to hold down a first-team spot under Jürgen Klopp. All of that will work against Liverpool in negotiations.
It would be a real risk for Liverpool as Lovren earns close to £100,000-a-week at Anfield, and committing to handing that to an unwanted, ageing player is a bold move for a team who don't have too much money to spare these days.