Liverpool Reportedly Make €22M Bid for Croatia Defender Domagoj Vida

Liverpool have reportedly upped their bid for Croatia and Besiktas defender Domagoj Vida to €22 million (£19.4 million), but it is still well short of the Turkish club's €35 million (£30.9 million) valuation.

Earlier in July, Turkish newspaper Fanatik (h/t Harry Howes of the Daily Star) said the Reds had returned with an £18 million bid for Vida, having had a £16 million offer turned down. Emre Sarigul of Turkish-Football also cited Fanatik to report a third bid has been made.

However, the Reds are said to face competition from La Liga duo Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, along with Premier League rivals Everton and Leicester City.

The 29-year-old played six of Croatia's seven matches at the 2018 FIFA World Cup as they reached the final, where they finished as runners-up to France.

He assisted Ivan Perisic's goal in Sunday's showpiece, and he scored against tournament hosts Russia in the quarter-final:

When he's not heading home from corners, he uses his aerial prowess to great effect defensively and will comfortably head away crosses all day long.

Joe.co.uk's Nooruddean Choudry has been impressed by his performance in Russia and will not be surprised by the level of interest he's generated:

What may be of particular interest to Liverpool is his chemistry at the back with Dejan Lovren.

Lovren significantly improved at Anfield after the arrival of Virgil van Dijk in January, and Rory Smith of the New York Times believes Vida has a similar effect on him:

BeIN Sports USA's Matteo Bonetti has not been particularly convinced by Vida, though:

Vida struggled to cope with Raheem Sterling's pace and movement in the semi-final against England and was perhaps fortunate the Manchester City forward—who appeared to lack confidence in his end product throughout the tournament—was unable to make more of the torrid time he gave him.

The centre-back would likely be a backup for Joel Matip, Lovren and Van Dijk at Anfield, though, and he'd perhaps be an upgrade on Ragnar Klavan.

However, if that is the role he would play at Liverpool, it's difficult to justify meeting Besiktas' valuation, even after his impressive World Cup campaign.