James Pearce gives final word to end rumours about potential £19.5m signing

Liverpool have been linked with a £19.5million move for Croatia defender Domagoj Vida according to reports, however, James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo has suggested that the Reds will not be signing another central defender this season.

The report from Pearce claims that Liverpool are “baffled” by rumours linking them with Vida. The Besiktas man was one of the better players for his national side in the World Cup and certainly proved he can do it at the big stage, despite losing the World Cup final.

There has been an injury to Joel Matip as the Liverpool central defender picked

However, he is expected to be out for a fortnight and even if he is not fit in time to face West Ham United, Jurgen Klopp could look at either Joe Gomez or Ragnar Klavan to pair Virgil van Dijk in the centre-back spots.

In all probability, Dejan Lovren would have been the first choice partner for Van Dijk but since he is still away on holiday after his World Cup exploits, the Croatian would only return six days before the start of the season and may need more time to get into the groove.

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The Reds have been busy in the transfer market this season, bringing in four players to bolster their side. While Matip’s injury is a concern, we should have enough cover to deal with that and Lovren’s late return to the side.