"?Liverpool , it seems, are not quite as close to sealing a deal for Cologne and Germany left-back Jonas Hector as was thought over the weekend after the Bundesliga club's sporting director rubbished claims that a fee had been agreed.
'This is Anfield' claimed on Saturday that Liverpool and Cologne had settled on a price, thought to be £12m, allowing formal talks with Hector and his representatives to then get underway.
However, in comments now published by Bild, Jorg Schmadtke has denied that any such agreement is in place and that Cologne are not willing to sell a star asset for that little.
"There is no offer from Liverpool. At the sum of the assumed transfer fee, we see that this cannot be a serious matter," he told the German publication.
The report further reveals that Schmadtke would be looking for a fee closer to £16m, with various potential additional add-ons on top as well.
Liverpool have been heavily linked with Hector for a number of months already as Jurgen Klopp looks to strengthen his back four ahead of his first full season in charge at Anfield.
The left-back area in particular has been problematic, with fans having regularly been less than pleased with the performances of Brendan Rodgers signing Alberto Moreno.
The Spaniard endured a nightmare in the recent Europa League final against Sevilla, costing the Reds the initiative in the game after a mistake cost a goal, while he also had a poor day in the Capital One Cup final at Wembley earlier in the season.
Klopp has already moved to strengthen his defensive unit with the signing of Joel Matip on a free transfer from Schalke and the £4.7m capture of Mainz goalkeeper Loris Karius.
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