Liverpool transfers: ‘Reds won’t sign Dejan Lovren before new season’
Liverpool transfers: Phil Thompson doesn't believe Dejan Lovren will move to Anfield before Premier League opener
Phil Thompson doesn’t expect Liverpool to sign Dejan Lovren before the Reds play Southampton on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
The Saints have already sold Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert to Liverpool for a combined fee of £29m as Brendan Rodgers looks to bolster his squad ahead of the Reds’ return to the Champions League.
The Croatia international has been heavily linked with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur throughout the summer.
But Thompson feels that any deal for the 25-year-old would only take place after the two sides meet at Anfield on 17 August.
“I would probably think [manager] Ronald Koeman is looking at that and thinking that if he was to let Lovren leave as well [as Lallana and Lambert] before they actually play Liverpool, it’s not going to look very good,” Thompson told Sky Sports.
“If there is a deal, I think it will probably take place after the Southampton game.”
The 25-year-old Lovren has proven a big hit in the Premier League following his £9m move from Lyon last summer, scoring three goals in 32 appearances in all competitions for the south coast club.
