Three years on from a £20million arrival that made him the most expensive defender in Liverpool’s history and promised so much following an exceptional single season at Southampton, the jury’s still out on Dejan Lovren.
A frankly horrendous 2014/15 campaign, not only for the Serbian international but the club in general after a second-place finish the term previous, was followed by steady improvement the subsequent season and arguably Lovren’s best form to date in a Liverpool shirt last time out.
Yet, question marks still linger over the 6 foot 2 centre-back. Does he really possess the quality of a top four defender? Does he actually suit the way Jurgen Klopp wants his side to play? And although there has been clear improvement from that disastrous first season onwards, has Lovren ever come close to bettering the form that earned him a lucrative move to Anfield from Southampton in summer 2014?
In some ways, it’s hard not to feel sorry for Lovren; under both Brendan Rodgers and Klopp, Liverpool have been one of the toughest teams in the division to defend for. Their full-backs relentlessly push forward, their centre-halves are expected to build attacks from deep without giving away the ball in dangerous areas and their midfield offers limited protection – it speaks volumes that Jordan Henderson, traditionally a box-to-box midfielder, was Klopp’s first choice of anchorman at the start of last season.
Manchester City’s centre-backs face similar problems, which is why the Reds and the Citizens ranked in the bottom two respectively for shots conceded in the Premier League last season, but still allowed in over a goal per game and kept the joint-fewest clean sheets of the top seven clubs with twelve apiece.
At the same time, Lovren is yet to spend two seasons at Liverpool operating in the same back four, disallowing him the familiarity defenders crave.
In fact, he’s actually the longest-serving member of Liverpool’s current defence at just three years, with Joel Matip arriving last summer when James Milner was also converted into a left-back and Nathaniel Clyne moving to Anfield the year prior. The only constant Lovren’s had to work with is goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, and even he fluctuated in and out of the starting XI during that period due to bouts of poor form.
But that’s precisely what Lovren was bought for; to have the quality, both with and without the ball, to cope with the huge demands placed on the centre-backs in an offense-oriented side and to become a pillar of the backline the rest of it could be rebuilt around. Upon his arrival in 2014, it was already clear that Glen Johnson and Martin Skrtel wouldn’t be around for much longer, although Liverpool will have hoped Alberto Moreno became another mainstay.
Similarly, the statistics make rather worrying reading. Whereas certain returns are relative to the situation at hand – for example, it’s logical that clearances will reduce as successful passes increase and that overall, Liverpool players have less defending to do than Southampton counterparts because they tend to keep more of the ball – statistics like defensive errors and clean sheets per match particularly stand out.
In both regards, the single year at Southampton remains Lovren’s best season which, still bearing in mind the caveat previously mentioned, is the same case for clearances and interceptions, whilst he also committed second-fewest fouls per match during his solitary term on the south coast. Collectively, the statistics suggest Liverpool are still waiting for Lovren to produce to the levels that earned him the £20million move.
Sir Alex Ferguson once said all transfer fees should be judged when the player in question leaves the club, rather than when they arrive. In the context of the current market, where even Kyle Walker can set you back £50million, it would seem Liverpool have got a pretty good deal – a decent defender they’ve reached two cup finals and qualified for the Champions League with, even if his form has ranged from sub-par to solid-yet-unspectacular.
But if Liverpool were to float Lovren on the transfer market this summer, even with five years remaining on his contract, it seems unlikely any suitor would pay back Liverpool’s original investment, let alone provide a profit on top – at least not in England anyway.
Interlinked, it’s also unlikely any other team in the top six would actively move for him; Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, City and United all have equal if not superior options to call upon already.
Which makes you wonder how Liverpool can justify demanding £30million for Mamadou Sakho. If they genuinely think he’s worth that much despite not kicking a ball for Liverpool for over a year, then he’s a better defender than Lovren. And if he’s a better defender than Lovren, regardless of his infamous fallout with last summer Klopp, then he should be getting another chance in the Liverpool first team.
In some ways, that really puts into perspective how Lovren’s Liverpool career has panned out, arguably inferior to a player Klopp can’t wait to get rid of this summer and still dividing opinions after three years at Anfield. So, Liverpool fans, which side of the fence do you stand on – at £20million, has Lovren been a transfer hit or a transfer miss for the Reds?
Let us know by voting below…
