Did Mohamed Salah and Alisson play a role in Ragnar Klavans Liverpool exit?
Ragnar Klavan has revealed he sought advice from his former Liverpool teammates prior to agreeing to join Cagliari on the final day of the Serie A transfer window.
The 32-year-old left Anfield after making 53 appearances over two years for the Reds following the January arrival of Virgil van Dijk and emergence of Joe Gomez, who have started the season as first choice.
Klavan was left out of the Liverpool squad for the opening day win over West Ham United and completed his move to Cagliari last Friday as the Italian transfer window prepared to slam shut.
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He has signed a two-year deal having agreed a £2m move and came to the decision to move to Serie A after speaking with those Liverpool players who have previously applied their trade in the Italian top flight.
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Cagliari was the best possible choice, despite the many other offers on the table,” he told the media according to Football Italia.
I spoke to some of my teammates who played in Italy and they definitely recommended it. I was also in contact with (fellow new Cagliari signing Darijo) Srna through Dejan Lovren.
I always wanted to play in Serie A, one of the best leagues in the world. I was fortunate to play at the top level and this is another great challenge for me.
The negotiations happened very quickly, it went from first contact to signing in two days. I believe in the Cagliari project and was won over by the city and the island of Sardinia.
Liverpool have three players in their senior ranks who have had spells in Italy, with Mohamed Salah and Alisson Becker playing for Roma while Xherdan Shaqiri spent an ill-fated six months with Inter Milan.
The trio are therefore likely to have played a major role in Klavan moving to the Sardegna Arena, the fifth permanent exit from Anfield this summer.
Though Klavan will hope to have more of an impression in Italy than he did with Liverpool he still labels his spell in England as extraordinary.
I grew up idolising Paolo Maldini, who was always so calm with the ball at his feet, the Estonia international added.
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More: Liverpool Transfer News
I think that is an important part of my game too. I see myself as a complete defender, I like to play the ball.
“Clearly, my experience with Liverpool was extraordinary, but Cagliari remind me of when I went to Augsburg.
When I arrived, we were a lower-mid-table team, but in the third season we qualified for the Europa League and came fifth in the Bundesliga. Everything is possible.
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