Barcelona Reportedly Keen on January Move for Liverpool Centre-Back Dejan Lovren

Dejan Lovren has emerged as a surprise target for La Liga giants Barcelona ahead of the January transfer window. 

The Camp Nou club is looking for ways to compensate for a spate of injuries at centre-back, and has reportedly identified Liverpool defender Lovren as an option, per Mundo Deportivo (h/t Adam Skinner of the Daily Express).

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde needs more options at the back while France international Samuel Umtiti and former Arsenal man Thomas Vermaelen deal with injuries.

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Lovren would likely welcome interest from Spain's champions after he has found playing time increasingly hard to come by with the Reds. The 29-year-old ex-Southampton ace has made just two starts across all competitions so far this season and has yet to feature in the UEFA Champions League.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been content to try different partners alongside the world's most expensive defender, Virgil van Dijk. Joel Matip and versatile 21-year-old Joe Gomez, who can also play full-back, have both featured more often than Lovren.

Even so, the Croatia international has never lacked confidence in his own ability:

In fairness to Lovren, he has generally impressed when given chances recently. He was a standout performer when the Reds drew 0-0 with Premier League champions Manchester City at Anfield earlier this month:

Lovren was also a thorn in City's side during the last eight of last season's Champions League:

Lovren's ability to deal with City's short passing game could make him a useful fit in La Liga, a division where so-called 'tiki-taka' is still the dominant style of play. Barca would also benefit from Lovren's experience, as well as his aggression in the air.

Those qualities would ensure Valverde has excellent cover to call on behind Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet. What Lovren wouldn't do is replace the pace Barca miss with Umtiti on the treatment table.

It might not be enough to deter the Blaugrana from trying to pull off another deal with a club from which they've signed several stars in recent years, most recently playmaker Philippe Coutinho back in January.

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Barca could find signing another Liverpool player difficult, though, since Klopp may need Lovren. Van Dijk is dealing with rib injuries requiring regular injections Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman told Der Telegraaf (h/t Jake Polden of the Daily Mirror). 

Having numbers underpinning a much-improved defence can help Liverpool maintain a genuine title challenge for the rest of the season.