Zenit St Petersburg Still Keen on Dejan Lovren But Are Yet to Meet Liverpool Valuation

Zenit St. Petersburg are willing to offer £9m for Liverpool's Croatian centre back Dejan Lovren. However, that is some way short of the Reds' current price tag.

The Russian giants have identified 31-year-old Lovren as Branislav Ivanovic's replacement at the club, with the former Chelsea defender approaching the end of his career.

The Daily Mail claim Lovren is 'open' to the move with the prospect of regular game time appealing.

The centre back has one year left on contract at Liverpool though, and the Reds have indicated they will take up the option to extend that by another year if a suitable offer doesn't arrive this summer.

Lovren has been a part of a side which have garnered major success over the past two years, although his role in Liverpool's Champions League and Premier League triumphs has been limited.

The World Cup finalist has made just 15 appearances in all competitions this season, while Joe Gomez and Joel Matip have regularly been favoured over the Croatian to partner the imperious Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the defence.

The majority of Lovren's minutes have come as a result of injuries to the aforementioned trio, with the Croatian's poor display as a substitute in the most recent Merseyside Derby proving why he hasn't earned more minutes under Jurgen Klopp.

And it's understood the Reds are keen to see youth prospects Ki-Jana Hoever and Sepp van den Berg earn more opportunities with the first-team going forward.

Although, the club aren't actively trying to offload Lovren this summer, they will entertain offers of around £15m, having turned down a £13m bid from Roma last year.

The Mail's report claims that for this reason Zenit's £9m bid will likely be rejected but whether they will return with an improved figure is as yet unknown.