Liverpool Revive Interest in Lloyd Kelly Following Bournemouth's Relegation

Liverpool have revived their long-standing interest in Lloyd Kelly, after losing out to Bournemouth in the race to sign him last summer.


Jurgen Klopp's Reds were interested in taking the England Under-21 international to Anfield last summer, but the Cherries nipped in and completed a £13m deal with Bristol City under the noses of the newly-crowned Premier League champions.


Kelly impressed for the Cherries since the restart

But now that Bournemouth have been relegated to the Championship, interest in Kelly has ignited - and the Express say that Liverpool are leading a pack of club's hunting his signature.


The Reds are looking to strengthen their defensive options for next season after the departure of Croatian centre back Dejan Lovren to Zenit St. Petersburg earlier this week.


Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are the three options on the club's books, while young Ki-Jana Hoever is a versatile young defender capable of playing anywhere across the back line. Kelly is of a similar mould, and his ability to play on the left hand side could kill two birds with one stone.


The Reds need an understudy to Andy Robertson, who's absences this season - while few far and between - have thus far been covered by James Milner, primarily a central midfielder.


Jurgen Klopp could do with providing some competition for Andy Robertson

In regards to Kelly, Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe recently said: “I think both positions for us at the moment. I wouldn’t say one or the other – he can play both very well. We have seen that, albeit in his very short time with us, when he’s trained.


"From full-back he’s really good athletically, he uses the ball well and is strong and good in the air – has lots of good qualities. At centre-back the same qualities show and his use of the ball is very good."


Kelly has struggled with injuries, though, and was restricted to just nine Premier League appearances for Bournemouth. Their relegation to the Championship was confirmed on the final, despite a 3-1 win over Liverpool's bitter rivals Everton - after Jack Grealish's goal at West Ham earned Aston Villa the point they needed to stay up.




Source : 90min