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| Liverpool and Besiktas want Jeremy Mathieu |
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is interested in signing FC Barcelona defender Jeremy Mathieu this summer, according to French outlet Le Parisien.
Following the departure of defenders Martin Skrtel and Kolo Toure from the club, Jurgen Klopp now has limited options in central defence and wants to strengthen the position. He sees Jeremy Mathieu as a good option and want to make the Frenchman his fourth defender alongside Dejan Lovren, Mamadou Sakho and new signing Joel Matip.
Klopp feels Jeremy Mathieu will be easy to get following the arrival of Samuel Umtiti at FC Barcelona, an event that means Mathieu's role as 3rd choice central defender is in jeopardy.
Liverpool are not the only club interested in signing the 32-year old as Turkish source NTVSpor reported few days ago that Turkish giants Besiktas are strongly interested in bringing the defender to their club and have already offered Barcelona a €7 million bid to see if he could be priced away from the Camp Nou this summer.
As things stand, Jeremy Mathieu is happy at the club and FC Barcelona are not even planning on selling him as they want to have four defenders for the upcoming season with Thomas Vermaelen very likely to exit the club.
Mathieu joined FC Barcelona in the summer of 2014 for the sum of €20 million from Valencia and has since found favour in the eyes of coach Luis Enrique featuring in 42 league games and scoring two goals of which both were important. He has helped the team win seven trophies since he joined and has not been bad as a third choice central defender.
Mathieu's versatility might be one of the reasons clubs are interested in him as he can play at central defence and also as a left back. Barça might just let him go if they get a good bid, Liverpool will face strong competition from Besiktas surely but there is no way Barça will let him go for free as he still has two years left in his contract.
