Liverpool are set to sign Manchester City defender Kolo Toure on a free transfer, according to widespread reports on Tuesday morning.

Toure, 32, announced last month that he had not been offered a new contract at the Etihad Stadium and was preparing to leave the club. He added that he wished to continue in England, with his family having settled in the North West.

Liverpool are in the market for defensive reinforcements following Jamie Carragher's retirement and Toure, who made only 15 appearances in the Premier League this season, is tipped to fill the void across a wide range of national newspapers in the United Kingdom.

Toure signed for City from Arsenal in 2009 and was made club captain under then-manager Mark Hughes, but Roberto Mancini gave the armband to Carlos Tevez in 2010.

The Ivory Coast international saw his influence at the club decline in 2011, when he was handed a six-month suspension after failing a doping test and thereafter struggled to win back his place in the team.

Source: ESPN