Jurgen Klopp will let Dejan Lovren leave Liverpool if interested clubs are ready to meet a valuation which will rise to £20m.
And the Anfield boss will take such a risky decision because of his complete faith in talented teenage defender Ki-Jana Hoever, who has been promoted into the Reds squad for the Super Cup final in Lovren’s absence.
The Croatia defender, who appeared in the 2018 World Cup final, is a surprise absence from the squad which travelled to Istanbul, with the club citing illness as the reason for leaving him back in England.
But both Roma and AC Milan have made inquiries in recent days, with Klopp now ready to let Lovren leave for around £15m - with an additional £5m in add-ons - because he now considers him the fourth choice centre half.
Lovren is 30 and wants first team football, and he has indicated he is prepared to take a pay cut on his salary of close to £100,000 a week to ensure more playing time, after he slipped behind van Dijk, Gomez and Matip in the pecking order.
Klopp is reluctant to lose a senior defender, but it is the huge promise of Hoever which has persuaded him to listen to Italian offers…and accept if the price is right.
That is a risk because both Matip and Gomez had long term injuries last season, when Liverpool had only two fit defenders for long periods. Hoever is just 17, but has already made his first team debut - in the FA Cup at Wolves last January.
He also starred in the club’s pre-season games, and that has seen him train full time with the first team squad.
Now the Dutch U21 international has been called up into the Super Cup final squad, and will be handed a place on the bench for the game against Chelsea .
