Rodgers lands Lovren from Saints but Remy deal is a write-off
LONDON: Liverpool have completed the £20m purchase of Southampton defender Dejan Lovren but the bid to sign France striker Loic Remy has collapsed.
The 25-year-old Croatia centre-back, has agreed a four-year contract and is the third Saints player to move to Anfield during this transfer window after Rickie Lambert, 32, and Adam Lallana, 25.
Lovren, who joins the squad on their US tour, said: “After I played at Anfield last season, I said to myself: ‘One day I hope I’ll be able to play here for Liverpool’.”
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said: “This is a very important signing for us. He is a commanding and powerful presence and clearly has leadership skills, which is important – he fits the profile of player we are looking for.
“He is still relatively young, so his peak years are ahead of him and I believe he will improve and progress even further with us.”
Striker Lambert, 32, cost £4m while midfielder Adam Lallana, 25, was signed for £25m. Liverpool have also bought German under-21 midfielder Emre Can for £10m from Bayer Leverkusen and winger Lazar Markovic for £20m from Benfica.
Lovren joined Southampton from Lyon for £8.5m only last summer.
With Luke Shaw joining Manchester United for £27m and Calum Chambers set to sign for Arsenal in a deal in the region of £16m, Southampton will have sold five players for a total of approximately £92m.
However Liverpool’s £8.5m move for QPR striker Remy fell through after a medical issue – and after the player had flown to the US to join the club’s pre-season tour.
The Reds’ bid had activated a release clause in the contract of the player, who last year scored 14 goals on loan at Newcastle United.
Remy was a member of the France squad who reached the World Cup quarter-finals, appearing as a substitute against Ecuador and Germany.
He made 26 Premier League appearances for Newcastle last season but only played four of the final 11 games as he struggled with a calf injury.
Remy moved to Newcastle on loan after QPR’s relegation from the Premier League in 2013.
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