Noel Whelan has heaped praise on Liverpool centre-back Dejan Lovren as uncertainty continues to surround the Croatian’s future at Anfield.
The 29-year-old World Cup finalist is understood to be on his way out of the club this summer, with AC Milan touted as a potential destination, as reported by Football Insider.
But BBC Leeds pundit Whelan has seemingly suggested that it would be a mistake to let him go.
Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “I’m not surprised Milan want him, he’d walk into any team you care to mention. When fully fit, Lovren is a superb centre-back who is aggressive, dominant and difficult to play against.
“He’s actually got better the longer he has been at Liverpool, and I’m sure Klopp will not want to lose a defender like him who can step in and be so comfortable at the top level.”
OPINION
Whelan is right, when Dejan Lovren is on his game, he is one of the finest centre-backs around. The issue is that you can never tell whether it is going to be his day or not. Sometimes he looks like a world beater, on other occasions he looks like a liability, and when you are competing with the absolute best for the top prizes in football, you cannot afford to be carrying a player whose erratic tendencies make him a bit of a time bomb. A switch to Milan would probably suit Lovren. A massive club with a rich history, he would not feel too out of place there, but equally, he would be competing in that bracket just beneath the very, very best. In that kind of environment, he would surely thrive. Liverpool would still need to bring in some kind of replacement, of course, but finding a second choice centre-half shouldn’t be the toughest task in the world.
