Liverpool’s decision to keep Dejan Lovren is already paying off

Liverpool decided not to make any major signings in the summer, but they didn’t allow too many players to leave either.

Daniel Sturridge and Alberto Moreno were the early exits as their contracts expired, while Simon Mignolet left in search of first-team football.

There was one first-teamer consistently linked with an exit though, and that was Dejan Lovren. The 30-year-old fell down the pecking order last season, thanks to the emergence of Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.

Lovren was linked with several Italian clubs but Jurgen Klopp put his foot down and kept the Croatian, despite initially thinking of selling him (h/t Express

The Croatian hadn’t started a Premier League game for us all season but was given the nod ahead of Joe Gomez against Leicester.

The English defender had a tough time against RB Salzburg, and putting Lovren in against Jamie Vardy and company could have been a disaster.

Lovren puts in a fantastic showing

The 30-year-old is prone to making a mistake or two at the back, but barely put a foot wrong against the Foxes.

The Croatian was up against an impressive Leicester side but Vardy could get nothing out of the defender.

There were one or two moments where Lovren couldn’t play the offside trap well but more than made up for his positioning issues.

Lovren was impressive with the ball at his feet as he didn’t misplace many passes. It was the Croatian who almost got the block-in to stop James Maddison’s goal.

Liverpool could have made a decent sum by selling the World Cup finalist but keeping him at the club was a great move.

Lovren is one of the most experienced defenders in the Premier League, and he was one of the top performers last night.

This was a game where could have dropped points but Lovren kept the Foxes from scoring and we kept our cool until the last seconds of the game.

The 30-year-old provides a lot of cover to Gomez and Matip, and this one–off game proves he can do a great job alongside Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool need to have four quality centre-backs despite signing Sepp van den Berg.

Injuries played a part in Lovren fallen down the pecking order last season, and the form shown by other defenders could allow him to get back in the side.

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The Croatian should get more games once the international break is done but Matip should still be the first-choice partner for Van Dijk once he is back to fitness.