Sunday, 27th July, 2014



Southampton are preparing to move for Sporting Lisbon centre-back Marcos Rojo as they bid to replace Dejan Lovren.

The Saints are poised to sell Croatia defender Lovren to Liverpool for £20m and are moving to quickly sign a replacement.



The south coast club have been beset by their best players being targeted and have also lost Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert to Liverpool, with Lovren set to follow the pair, while right-back Calum Chambers is on the brink of a move to Arsenal, and Luke Shaw has joined Manchester United.

Now, according to Portuguese daily O Jogo, Southampton are ready to move for Argentina World Cup star Rojo.

 


The centre-back enhanced his reputation at Sporting Lisbon last season, attracting links with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Valencia, Napoli and Juventus, amongst others.

relatedNewsStory

However, Southampton boss Ronald Koeman is set to strike first in the race for the 24-year-old by offering €15m for his services.

Rojo is also able to operate as a left-back, something which Koeman will no doubt find useful given the departure of Shaw.

Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.