Liverpool Transfer News: Latest on Lucas Biglia and Gregoire Defrel Rumours

Liverpool and Premier League rivals Arsenal will reportedly face frustration if they decide to pursue mooted transfer target Lucas Biglia. The Argentinian midfielder wants to stay with Serie A club Lazio, according to reports in Italy.

Italian source Calciomercato (h/t TalkSport.com) has revealed how the player's agent, Enzo Montepaone, made his client's intentions clear: "In the last three years three top clubs have been after him, but he has decided to make Lazio's history."

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The Reds and the Gunners are believed to be two of those three interested clubs Montepaone referenced, per the report. Indeed, the Anfield club was linked several times with the combative midfielder earlier this year.

A report from Italian outlet Calciomercatoweb (h/t Metro's Mark Brus) stated Liverpool were ready to offer wayward striker Mario Balotelli to help seal a deal for Biglia back in April.

Earlier that month, Italian publication Corriere dello Sport (h/t Jonathan Green of the Daily Star) indicated Lazio were ready to accept offers worth £20 million.

Liverpool didn't bid, though, and it's not clear the Reds need to worry too much about Montepaone's words.

Biglia is now 30 and doesn't seem like the ideal fit for the young Liverpool squad manager Jurgen Klopp is building.

That's despite there being some need for an accomplished holding midfield player in Klopp's ranks.

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Jordan Henderson is tenacious enough, but his defensive instincts aren't particularly sharp. The same is true of Emre Can who has energy but doesn't display the positional sense to effectively shield a fragile back four. Even Brazilian Lucas Leiva appears surplus to requirements.

Still, Klopp can do better than Biglia. The South American destroyer is brittle and lacks the engine to play the high-intensity pressing game Klopp demands.

Liverpool will need a new man to underpin midfield sooner rather than later, but Klopp should look beyond Biglia and continue his search.

Reds Scouting Sassuolo Striker

One position Klopp may not want to delay upgrading is striker. Not when both Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi have so often been slowed by injuries.

So it makes sense to read the Reds have been keeping tabs on Sassuolo forward Gregoire Defrel. The 25-year-old has been watched by Liverpool scouts, according to Calcio News 24 (h/t TalkSport.com). It's reported Liverpool have had company in maintaining a watch over Defrel, with both Premier League champions Leicester City and Serie A side Napoli also appearing keen.

Arsenal and Crystal Palace are the other names mentioned in what seems to be a growing queue of suitors. Buoyed by the interest, Sassuolo are said to be ready to demand as much as £16 million, per the reports.

It's a fee Klopp may find reasonable, since his otherwise free-flowing team still lacks a dependable focal point up top. Defrel has scored five times already this season, per WhoScored.com. The Frenchman is versatile enough to play anywhere along the front, a quality Klopp would welcome in his rotating forward line.

Klopp has Liverpool ticking along nicely at the moment. However, finding more protection for a shaky defence, as well as identifying a talisman in attack, remain issues he still has to resolve.