Liverpool plan to intensify their search for a central defender after missing out on Valencia’s Adil Rami, Football Express News has discovered.
A source close to Anfield told FEN the Reds are confident that Rami’s decision to join Serie A heavyweights AC Milan is a temporary setback to their plans and the focus now turns to other targets.
A chunk of the money they receive from Luis Suarez’s sale to Barcelona will be ploughed into their defensive recruitment drive.
The heart of boss Brendan Rodgers’ backline has been identified as an area in urgent need of improvement after several individual mistakes and team lapses dented their Premier League title challenge last term.
They had to settle for second place behind eventual champions Manchester City and are determined to become a more resilient unit in the 2014-15 campaign, not least because they face the challenge of competing in the Champions League.
France international Rami will, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, put pen to paper at the San Siro this afternoon, ending the Merseyside outfit’s lingering hopes of luring him to England.
He spent last season on loan at Milan and became a hit with supporters.
The 28-year-old has less than 12 months remaining on his contract with Valencia. He made a hasty exit from the club last term after falling out with team-mates and staff, having criticised his colleagues’ displays in public.
Rami made 20 appearances for Milan in the 2013-14 campaign, scoring three goals.
