Jonas Hector would have to become Liverpool’s most expensive ever defender if we were to buy him, but it doesn’t look like we’re especially interested anyway.
He’s priced at £24m, £4m than we spent on Dejan Lovren in 2014.
That’s according to Cologne CEO Jorg Schmadtke, who reckons the Germany international left-back will be staying with his Bundesliga club for 2016/17.
“There’s nothing in it. There is no question of an offer from Liverpool,” he told Express.de.
“If someone comes up with double [£12m], then I might answer the phone.
“But I believe that Jonas plays in the new season with us.”
Previous reports suggested the 26-year-old fullback would be available for £12m, a bargain considering Hector’s performances this term, which will earn him a starting spot at this summer’s Euros with one of the tournament favourites.
But the Echo state that despite scouting Hector, he’s not a target – and the player we’re after to provide Alberto Moreno competition is Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell.
The youngster barely featured for the Premier League champions, but is highly rated and a regular for England Under-21s. Still, with Moreno proving a defensive liability, many Reds were hoping we’d aim to bring in a more established player in this position.