Roma have offered Liverpool the chance to sign wantaway defender Mehdi Benatia for £32million, Football Express News can reveal.
The centre-half had been in line to join Manchester City but the champions have pulled the plug after reaching an agreement with Porto’s Eliaquim Mangala, who has undergone a medical.
A source close to Anfield told FEN the Serie A outfit have made contact in order to sound out the Merseyside giants over a deal for Benatia, who is desperate to leave the Italian capital during the summer transfer window.
The insider revealed the Reds are anxious to bolster their much-maligned defence and could enter into advanced talks with Roma once talisman Luis Suarez has completed his imminent move to Barcelona.
His mega-money switch to the Nou Camp will free up funds for Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers to improve the heart of his backline.
Benatia is unsettled at his current club following a disagreement over contract talks. The Moroccan feels betrayed due to broken promised over a lucrative new extension and is determined to leave before the 2014-15 campaign gets started.
The Giallorossi’s sporting director Walter Sabatini is now lining up several possible replacements in case the Moroccan does depart for England.
He is expected to demand somewhere in the region of £3m per year in wages.