Liverpool and Everton to battle it out for €50m-rated Spanish defender Diego Llorente

Image Courtesy: Diego Llorente (Twitter)

Bengaluru, March 12: Liverpool is interested in a Summer move for Real Sociedad’s Diego Llorente after scouting the defender this season, according to reports.

The Merseysiders have been disappointed in finding a solid partner for backbone Virgil Van Dijk. Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Fabinho have all partnered the Dutch maestro this season, but Klopp is thought to want a new option.

Gomez was the only one of the four to hold down the position on a regular basis, but with the defender has been out of action since December with a broken ankle and facing persistent injury issues, Llorente has apparently emerged as a new target to replace Matip and compete with Gomez for the spot alongside Van Dijk.

The centre-half spent his growing days playing for the Real Madrid youth teams and the Castilla before a couple of loan spells away from the club. The 25-year-old however never able to make a position of himself in Madrid colours and finally in 2017, he signed for fellow La Liga side Real Sociedad.

But, over the last two years, the Spanish defender has grown to bit by bit and certainly has now been attracting a lot of interests.

Llorente has made 18 appearances overall competition this season and has played a key role in their build-up play. The tall lanky defender with an eye for goal who likes playing out from the back moreover can also play in defensive midfield, meaning he would give Klopp plenty of options.

At this point, Llorente could surely be a utility signing for the Merseyside outfit as he can help in bringing more covers to the team, however, if Liverpool are to really kick on, they might have to pay a substantial amount.

Just like most players in La Liga, Llorente too said to have a release clause. His is reportedly tied with at €50m fee but, since the Basque side signed him up on the cheap for just €7m from Real Madrid, they could lower the fee as much as to €30m.

The Reds, however, could also face competition from local rivals Everton who too reportedly have been scouting him thoroughly.