Liverpool are increasingly set to land Jonas Hector after Cologne made tentative steps in signing his replacement.
Hector has been one of the standout performers in his position in the Bundesliga this season and has caught the eye of Jurgen Klopp in his battle to source a replacement left-back at Anfield.
The Reds manager has made the 25-year-old’s acquisition a top priority this summer after Alberto Moreno capped off a poor campaign with a disappointing display in Wednesday’s Europa League final defeat to Sevilla, during which he was widely blamed for two of his former club’s goals.
German international Hector is expected to command a fee in the region of £12 million, with Cologne’s move for Darmstadt’s out-of-contract defender Konstantin Rausch indicating that a move may be imminent.
Cologne manager Peter Stoger previously admitted that a ‘three-figure’ offer for Hector would tempt the club’s hand.
“I don’t have to talk about what may happen in the summer. But if somebody should offer us a three-figure million sum, we’d probably give in,” he told Sport Bild in March.
“If a two-figure million sum is offered, we’d consider it. And if Jonas Hector says that he doesn’t want to stay here, we’d have to face up to it.”