 Saturday, 15th Jun 2013 09:08 Saints have signed Dejan Lovren from Olympique Lyonnais for a reported fee of £6.8 million plus, first glance looks good fior what we need for next season. Saints have announced that they have signed central defender Dejan Lovren from French side Olympique Lyonnais, although the club arent officially disclosing the fee, its believed to be in the region of £6.8 - £8.5 million, depending on press reports you read, I would hazard a guess that its nearer the top end given that Lyon paid around £7-£8 million for him in the first place and that he still had three years left on his contract. On the face of it Lovren is exactly what Saints need, a commanding central defender who turning 24 in a few weeks time is both young enough, but experienced enough to adapt to the demands of the Premier League. Starting out with Dinamo Zagreb in his home country of Croatia he also spent time on loan with Inter Zapresic, his good form for his parent club on his return brought him to the attention of Lyon who signed him in January 2010 for around 8 million euros plus add ons, his playing time was limited in his first months at the club however due to the fact that he couldnt play in the Champions League having already featured for Dinamo Zagreb. In 2010/11 though he established himself as a regular, playing mainly in the centre of defence but also stepping in at full back on both sides of the pitch when neccessary showing his versatility. Over his 3 1/2 seasons in France he has established himself as a well respected defender although there does appear to be an issue with discipline, last season (12/13) he was not only booked in 7 of the 26 games he played over the season for both Lyonnais and Croatia, but also sent off on 3 occasions, in fairness two of them were in the final minute of the game. In the past couple of years he has also established himself in the Croatia national side recently scoring the equaliser against Wales in a World Cup qualifyer that Croatia went on to win 2-1, overall he has 17 caps for his country so far and has scored 2 goals, perhaps highlighting that he is dangerous coming forward. All in all Lovren looks to be just the sort of signing we need, I have often been critical of our recent transfer dealings, but on the face of it the signing of Dejan Lovren seems to be just what the doctor ordered, an experienced player in one of the key positions that we need to strengthen in, although on a note of caution we would have said the same when we signed Vegard Forren, I do think though that Lovren is more proven, he has played in France for the past few years which is far tougher than the Norwegian league, as well as regular European competitve football, Lyon being knocked out of the Europa Leage back in February by Spurs after a 2-1 defeat at WHL in which guess what Gareth Bale got a 90th minute winner, followed by the home leg which was a 1-1 draw where Lyon were on the verge of going through on away goals before another 90th minute goal saved Spurs. So best wishes to Dejan Lovren on joining Southampton Football Club, lets hope he is the first of several key signings this season, on a sadder note though it will surely mean the end of their time at St Mary's for one possibly two of our current central defenders, Lovren's arrival brings the number up to five and thats far too many, so I do expect departures here, if only out on loan for the season. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 32 bloggersLeicester City Polls |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
