Dejan Lovren may push for a move away from Liverpool unless he sees his playing time improve in the near future, according to James Pearce.
The 56 cap Croatian international made his first appearance of the Premier League season in the 2-1 win over Leicester City last weekend, but has otherwise found first team opportunities hard to come by this term.
And Pearce is of the opinion that a lack of activity could force him to seek a new challenge elsewhere.
Writing during a Q&A for The Athletic, when asked about potential transfer business at the end of the season, Pearce wrote: “If Lovren’s chances are limited I’d imagine he will want to go and Klopp would need another CB.”
OPINION
Truthfully, you can easily imagine Lovren leaving Anfield in the near future. The centre-back evidently has talent, but Joel Matip has been imperious so far this season, while Joe Gomez is arguably a much better long term solution. That’s not to say that Lovren doesn’t still have a purpose to serve though. During his one appearance this season, in that late and vital win over Leicester, he was tremendous. The Croatian registered eight clearances, two interceptions, and a tackle, as well as a Whoscored rating of 7.65. As a point of context, Matip, Liverpool’s highest rated player this season, has an average rating of 7.62. But the issue with Lovren has never been his defensive capabilities, it has always been his inconsistency, and one fantastic game does little to dispel those concerns. On his day, Lovren can still be a fine servant for the club, but looking at things from a more holistic perspective, the big man may have to look elsewhere for the first team football he will feel he deserves.
