Liverpool have agreed a fee believed to be in the region of £20m for Saints defender Dejan Lovren.

The Croatian centre half has long been angling for a move to Anfield, after the Premier League runner-ups' interest in him was revealed.

At one point, he even threatened to not return to Staplewood following the World Cup in a bid to force through the move to Liverpool.

Manger Ronald Koeman said last week that he was prepared to let Lovren go if the Reds met Saints' asking price, as he did not want players at Southampton who did not want to be there.

He will be the third Southampton player to swap the South Coast for the North West this summer, following in the footsteps of Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana.

In total, Liverpool have paid Saints around £49m for the three players, which is half of the total outlay Brendan Rodgers has put on seven new signings.

Lovren joined Saints from French side Lyon for a fee of £8.5m last summer.

It is understood he will undergo a medical tomorrow before finalising the move.