Liverpool face competition from Arsenal for £26.9million World Cup star

Arsenal are considering a late bid to sign Croatia defender Domagoj Vida from Besiktas, according to the Evening Standard

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The report claims that the Gunners would have to pay around £26.9million to sign the central defender and are willing to include a player – Danny Welbeck or David Ospina, to reduce the price of the defender.

However, the club want to sell the player only on a cash deal and the Evening Standard also adds that Vida is keen on a move to England, with Liverpool keeping a tab on the situation.

The World Cup finalist is under contract at Besiktas until 2022 and the report claims that a number of clubs from Italy and Spain are also interested in him. This would put English clubs at a disadvantage as our transfer window closes today.

Liverpool do have their own injury problems at the back, with Joel Matip picking up an injury in pre-season. Jurgen Klopp was quoted by the Liverpool Echo as saying that Dejan Lovren isn’t guaranteed to play in the match against West Ham, as he only started training on Monday.

Read more: Liverpool handed boost as target keeps door open for possible move away from Ligue 1 giants

Klopp also added that he was not sure of what the Reds might do on the final day of the transfer window (h/t ESPN

) and if the injuries to our centre-backs are long-term, it would make sense to bring someone in just to be sure we have enough options at the back for the gruelling season ahead.