Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has spoken about his future at the club and in doing so he has not outrightly ruled out a summer exit.
The centre-back has kind of fallen down the pecking order at Anfield as he has played in just nine Premier League games so far this season. And over the past couple of months, North London side Arsenal have been strongly linked with a move for the 30-year-old.
Now speaking to Sky Sports, Dejan Lovren has talked about playing the backup role for Klopp’s defensive line and has also addressed the rumours of his exit.
“It has been a test for me,” he told Sky Sports. “But in these moments, I think you should stick with the team, even more, to show your quality even if you are not on the pitch with the first XI. The next day in training, you should give everything, just to respect your team-mates.
“Of course, it’s not the happiest moment when I see myself on the bench, but it’s the decision of the manager. I respect it and I am always the guy who will work 200 per cent behind closed doors. It’s just part of football. If 20 players could play, it would be nice, but there are only 11 places. Whoever is in the best shape will play and that’s fair enough.”
“Winning, for me, is like a drug. “When we won the Champions League, I didn’t play but I felt so happy and proud to be part of the team.
“But in some moments, of course, you also think to yourself that you want to play. It’s not the greatest moment when you don’t, but I have a mentality that is focused.
“I’m always ready. If someone is injured and coming off, I’m ready to step in and show my quality. I think I proved that last season when Joe Gomez or Joel Matip were injured and I came in and played.
“My goal is to play and to win as many trophies as possible. But at the moment the focus is just to win the next two games and be champions. After that, we will see what happens.”
This statement gives immense hope to Arsenal since Lovren has not ruled out a summer exit while the Gunners could be looking to part ways with David Luiz.
Luiz has not had the desired impact at the Emirates this season and there’s every chance Arteta might look to send him out. And if the Spanish boss does take such an action then he will most certainly want to add someone with experience under his belt – possibly Dejan Lovren.
But will it be sensible enough to let go of a 33-year-old only to bring in someone who will be 31 next month?
