Rodgers In Rome To Discuss Pjanic Move

Last week there was news that Liverpool are reportedly lining up a club record bid for Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic.

The Bosnian international has been lined up by Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers as the man to replace outgoing club legend Steven Gerrard.

The current Liverpool captain is set to leave Anfield when his contract runs out at the end of the season. Gerrard has already agreed a deal to sign for Major League Soccer side Los Angeles Galaxy, leaving Rodgers with a hole in his side.

The Reds boss was reportedly in Rome last week to begin negotiations over Pjanic with Roma director of football Walter Sabatini. However, 24-year-old Pjanic is not the only man Rodgers is willing to sign from the Italian capital.

Rodgers has also been linked with making a move for central midfielder Radja Nainggolan, 26, and attacking midfielder Adem Ljajic, 23. Liverpool are unlikely to sign all three players. Pjanic is their main priority, with Ljajic and Nainggolan being lined-up as secondary targets.

Pjanic moved to Roma from Lyon in the summer of 2011 for around £9million. French champions Paris St-Germain made an attempt to take the midfielder back to France with a £25million offer in the summer but the bid was rejected.

If Liverpool are to sign Pjanic, who appeared at the World Cup in Brazil for Bosnia, they will need to pay more than £35million to make the midfielder the most expensive player in the club’s history. There will still be a long way to go and you can keep up with any developments in the transfer saga with blue sq.

The last time Liverpool broke their transfer record, it was the £35million paid to Newcastle United for Andy Carroll, who left Anfield after 18 months for a £20million loss.

Liverpool fans could be forgiven for being anxious at the thought of paying so much for a player never to play in England but, unlike Carroll, Pjanic does have experience of playing in the Champions League with Roma and Lyon.

Pjanic may not be a like-for-like replacement of Gerrard, as his style of play is much different to the Englishman, but the Bosnian would be well suited to Rodgers’ pass-and-move philosophy.