Liverpool Transfer News: Andrea Ranocchia Interest Reported, Latest Reds Rumours

Liverpool are reportedly interested in bringing in Inter Milan defender Andrea Ranocchia on loan in January. 

According to TalkSport and Calciomercato (h/t Football Italia), Reds boss "Jurgen Klopp is an admirer of the Italian centre-back and wants him in his defence for the second half of the season."

Ranocchia does not appear to feature in Inter head coach Frank de Boer's plans and thus a temporary switch could be on the cards.

The 28-year-old fell out of favour last year and spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Sampdoria. Under De Boer, Ranocchia has played just twice; once in Serie A and once in the UEFA Europa League.

Liverpool's defence has been an issue in recent years, although the Times' Henry Winter praised them following their 2-1 win over Chelsea on Friday:

Bleacher Report UK's Jack Lusby and SportsJOE singled out new addition Joel Matip for praise:

However, the Reds have shipped eight Premier League goals this season—only Watford and the bottom-four teams have conceded more—so it's clearly still a work in progress.

Ranocchia may not be the answer, though. The Italian was a promising prospect in his youth but has not kicked on as predicted—he should be entering the peak years of his career now but is struggling for minutes.

He's somewhat error-prone—according to Squawka, he made four mistakes in 14 Serie A appearances for Sampdoria last year, all of which led to his side conceding—so he's far from the calm and composed presence Liverpool need right now.

Even on loan, the Reds may want to reconsider such a move unless they find themselves desperate for cover.

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Meanwhile, according to Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated (h/t the Daily Star's Rhys Turrell), Liverpool target Christian Pulisic is holding off on signing a new deal with Borussia Dortmund as he waits to see how much playing time he'll get this season.

The American forward turned 18 on Sunday, and, as Lusby revealed, the teenager has already had a significant impact at club level and on the international stage:

ESPN FC celebrated his birthday with a demonstration of his skills:

Football writer Clark Whitney is an admirer and hailed his performance in BVB's 6-0 win over Darmstadt on Saturday:

Dortmund are well aware of the prospect they have on their hands—hence the offer of a new deal—and while they won't want to burn the youngster out, it seems he'll earn plenty of appearances this year.

Liverpool will face a real battle for his signature—landing it will be extremely difficult.