Liverpool Transfer News: Reds Reportedly Open to Ragnar Klavan Sale

Liverpool will reportedly consider selling Ragnar Klavan before the end of the European summer transfer window.

According to James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, the Reds were previously reluctant to jeopardise their defensive depth with a sale. The injury concerns of Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren proved less severe than expected, however, and with Joe Gomez impressing so far, there is now a confidence they could cope with his departure.

Per Pearce, the 32-year-old wants to play more minutes, which is unlikely to happen at Anfield. A return to the Bundesliga before their transfer windows shuts August 31 is a possibility.

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Klavan has been with Liverpool since 2016 and has served as a solid depth option, but he has never pushed for a starting role, nor was he expected to.

Newcastle United reportedly tried to land the Estonian earlier in August, but at the time, it was unclear how long the Reds would be without several of their top defenders. Matip has since returned to training, however, and Lovren should return in a few weeks as well, per Pearce.

Perhaps most encouraging has been the fine form of Gomez, who did well in pre-season and continued along those lines in the win over West Ham United. The former Charlton Athletic starlet has long been regarded as a top talent, but he became something of an afterthought after he suffered two serious injuries.

Per Outside of the Boot, his showing against the Hammers was top-notch:

With Virgil van Dijk an automatic starter when healthy, the Reds have at least four options ahead of Klavan, and academy product Nat Phillips also got plenty of chances in pre-season. Klavan isn't expendable―the report stated the Reds wouldn't mind keeping him if there are no suitors―but he's certainly a prime candidate to be moved.

Per Pearce, other potential departures include Lazar Markovic, Divock Origi, Simon Mignolet and Pedro Chirivella.