Dejan Lovren: Gary Neville reveals what he REALLY thinks of Liverpool and Croatia star

Lovren has not always been the most popular player with the Liverpool fans since joining the club.

He arrived from Southampton in 2014 for a fee of around £20million and has gone on to make over 150 appearances for the Reds to date.

He helped Liverpool reach the Champions League final last season and went all the way to the World Cup final with Croatia in the summer.

Lovren claimed he was one of the best defenders in the world after Croatia knocked England out at the semi-final stage.

Neville says the 29-year-old is clearly confident in his ability.

And the Sky Sports pundit reckons Lovren is beginning to show the form he showed in his season at Southampton.

“He was a little bit gobby in the World Cup wasn’t he,” Gary Neville said.

“I have to say that for me with Lovren, when he was at Southampton I absolutely loved him.

“And when Liverpool signed him it didn’t surprise me at all.

“I think it took him time to settle in.

“I think now he actually seems to be getting better again.

“He’s passionate about playing for his country.

“I did think that he and (Domagoj) Vida at the World Cup would struggle, I thought he would give them more problems.

“But they did quite well in the game in the end.

“He’s confident in himself, he’s got a lot of belief. To be fair, when he’s at his best he’s a top centre-half.”

Lovren started for Croatia in the crucial Nations League match against England on Sunday.