Report: Liverpool close to Andrea Ranocchia deal

Liverpool are reportedly close to signing Italian centre-back Andrea Ranocchia from Serie A leaders Inter Milan.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Reds have submitted a bid of around £6.5m for the 6'5" defender and are expected to make an announcement about the deal "in the coming hours".

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he is on the lookout for defensive additions following injuries to Dejan Lovren, Kolo Toure, Mamadou Sakho and Martin Skrtel.

Ranocchia, 27, has been at San Siro since 2011 but has found game time hard to come by under Roberto Mancini this season, making just 10 league appearances and nine of them as a substitute.

The deal would be Liverpool's third signing in as many days following the arrivals of Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic and teenage goalkeeper Kamil Grabara.