Dalglish close to £14m defender deal

Liverpool are reportedly on the verge of sealing a deal for Udinese centre-back Cristian Zapata after the South American star revealed that he is set to turn down the advances of Manchester City and Arsenal.

The Colombian central defender has been in talks with the Merseyside club over the past few days and has revealed that he would prefer a move to Anfield to happen before this summer's Copa America tournament starts.

Liverpool are keen to strengthen their back four after Daniel Agger once again missed much of the season due to injury while long-serving defender Jamie Carragher is also coming towards the end of a long and successful career with the club.

According to reports in the Daily Mirror, Liverpool turned their attention to the Serie A defender after Manchester United beat them to the signing of Blackburn's young defender Phil Jones.

Zapata, who has the ability to play across the back four, has been with Udinese since 2005 and last season impressed as he helped the club finish fourth.

The 24-year-old is currently in South America preparing for the start of the Copa America in Argentina but is keen to try and resolve his future in the coming days after making it clear that he wants to leave Italy.

"I don't know what to say," said Zapata. "What I can say is that I am very close to Liverpool. At the end of the Copa America, we will see what happens with my future.

"I have gained experience, but the time has come for me to make the jump to a big team."

German giants Bayern Munich had also shown an interest in the promising defender but it appears Liverpool have won the race to sign the player with a fee of £14million expected to be enough for Udinese to part with the star defender.

Source: Sports Vibe

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