AC Milan will make a move for Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren once their appointment of Sampdoria manager Marco Giampaolo has been completed, according to Sky in Italy.
Giampaolo is expected to replace Gennaro Gattuso in the hot seat at Milan and will be tasked with rebuilding a squad that finished fifth in Serie A last season prolonging their absence from the Champions League to six years.
Milan have been linked with a move for Sampdoria defender Joachim Andersen who is reportedly on Arsenal‘s radar but another central defender in their sights is Lovren after he slipped down the pecking order at Liverpool.
According to the Times, Milan would have to table an offer of £25m for Liverpool to consider Lovren’s sale, although the Italian club’s prospective new sporting director Ricky Massara is a fan of the Croatia international.
The 29-year-old made 18 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions last season but found himself behind Joe Gomez at the start of the season and Joel Matip by the end of it with Virgil Van Dijk established as Jurgen Klopp’s defensive lynchpin.
The form of Van Dijk, Gomez and Matip mean that Lovren faces the likelihood of starting next season as Liverpool’s fourth-choice central defender and although he has two years remaining on his deal at Anfield, he could be tempted to move on.
Lovren has endured a mixed spell on Merseyside since making a £20m move from Southampton in 2014 although his performances over the past couple of seasons have been far more assured than his early form at Liverpool.
Klopp has insisted that he will not be making wholesale changes to a squad that won the Champions League and finished second in the Premier League with only one or two additions expected to arrive over the summer.
Daniel Sturridge and Alberto Moreno have both been released at the end of their contracts while there is speculation over the futures of Simon Mignolet and Xherdan Shaqiri.
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