Southampton have rejected a bid from Liverpool for full-back Nathaniel Clyne as the Merseyside club look to replace the outgoing Glen Johnson.
The offer, believed to be £10 million, comes as Brendan Rodgers looks to fill a hole in the right-back position in his team – Jon Flanagan suffering from a further long-term injury and Javier Manquillo and Andre Wisdom not deemed ready to fill the void.
The England full-back has a year left on his current contract on the South Coast but Head of Football Development at Saints, Les Reed, has said that talks over an extension are ‘very, very positive’.
Liverpool have now joined the race to sign Clyne who has been on Manchester United and Louis van Gaal’s radar for some time as they also need to strengthen at full-back.
Clyne has publicly stated that he would be happy on the South Coast as long as he remains England’s first choice in his position but Rodgers still feels that even without the lure of Champions League football that tempted former team-mates Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert a potential deal for the 24 year-old is possible.
Clyne has made 41 appearances this season for Southampton contributing three goals (one coming at Anfield on the opening day) and one assist – the 24 year-old also made his first England cap; a spot that has he has increased his hold on in the latter stages of the campaign.
