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Klavan would have been a decent signing

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Image for Klavan would have been a decent signing

OPINION

Newcastle United should have pursued the services of Liverpool defender Ragnar Klavan earlier in the window as he would have made a decent signing as well as been easier to get a deal done for.

The Chronicle reported on Thursday that Rafa Benitez had asked to sign the 32-year-old defender as transfer deadline loomed with potential deal hitting a brick wall before the pursuit had really gotten underway.

Klavan, who earns £55,000-a-week at Anfield (Source: Total Sportek) is an experienced centre-back who has previously proven that he is capable of performing to the required standard in the Premier League.

The 32-year-old is seen as a back-up defensive option for the Reds and seems able to cope with not getting a consistent run of games in the team.

Last season Klavan featured 28 times for Jurgen Klopp’s side last season and his longest run in the team was when he featured for 90minutes five times in a row at the end of 2017 due to other defenders being ruled out for various reasons.

The enforcer looked comfortable aiding his side’s quest for clean sheets and his experienced appeared to add a calmness to the Reds’ defence that sometimes they lacked last season.

Given that Klavan is hardly first-choice at Anfield, if a useful option to call upon, and that his contract expires next summer then the Reds may have been willing to do a deal with the Magpies for him.

But as he was a player that was reportedly only asked about signing by Benitez near the end of the window then it’s no surprise that the Reds would have potential ruled out the idea of selling him.

This would have likely been the case as Klopp appears to have a bit of an injury crisis regarding his defence ahead of their Premier League opener against West Ham.

The German manager shared with the Liverpool Echo following his side’s win after Torino that he was missing a few defenders for his side’s upcoming match against the Hammers.

While one of these players is Klavan himself, who the Reds boss alludes to being fit again after this weekend, he no doubt didn’t want to lighten his options when several had injury concerns.

Especially as he would have only had a very small window to find a replacement, sign them and get them up to speed in order to settle quicker at Anfield.

Therefore if the Magpies had looked to bolster their defensive options with Klavan sooner then they would have no doubt been successful in a pursuit of him.

Therefore Benitez’s side really should have thought about potentially signing the experienced enforcer sooner as he would have made a good signing for the club.

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