Liverpool will not stand in the way of Inter Milan's interest in
Lucas Leiva due to the Brazilian's loyal service to the club and the
fact Joe Gomez is considered to be ready for the second half of the
season, a source has told ESPN FC.
Lucas, 29, is being eyed up by
the Serie A side, whose interest "could take a couple of forms" in
regards to a loan move or a permanent deal, according to a source.
Liverpool's
position on letting Lucas leave will be influenced by manager Jurgen
Klopp seeing young defender Gomez as the "real deal" and fully fit after
recently recovering from a 13-month layoff.
The 19-year-old has
been building up his match fitness with Liverpool's under-23s side of
late, and Klopp believes he will be ready for first-team action in the
second half of the campaign.
A source said that Liverpool will
look kindly on Inter's approach for Lucas due to the service he has
given the Merseyside outfit since his arrival from Gremio in July 2007
and the opportunity presented to the player, given his age and the
Italian side's standing in European football.
Lucas -- a defensive midfielder by trade -- turned down a big-money
move to Turkey this summer as the Reds needed him to cover in the heart
of the defence, while Gomez was still on the road to recovery.
Gomez,
who joined Liverpool summer in the 2015 from Charlton Athletic, began
his career at Anfield as a left-back, but is now considered to be a
centre-half by Klopp and the rest of Liverpool's coaching staff.
Having
already made one sacrifice for Liverpool this term, Liverpool will not
stand in Lucas' way and all the indications point towards a deal being
struck to benefit all parties.
Lucas is currently Liverpool's longest-serving player but has been limited to just six starts in all competitions this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment