Liverpool sent scouts to watch Austrian international defender Martin Hinteregger on Wednesday night, according to a report in the Observer.
The 21-year-old Red Bull Salzburg centre-back marked Reds’ forward Luis Suarez in Austria’s 1-1 draw with the South Americans.
It was Hinteregger’s second cap for his country, having impressed this season as a regular for Die Roten Bullen in the Austrian Bundesliga.
Brendan Rodgers is on the look out for a long-term central defensive partner for French international Mamadou Sakho, who arrived from Paris Saint-Germain in an £18 million deal last summer.
Whilst Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger have both played their parts in Liverpool’s defence this season, a number of errors by both, as well as a succession of injury problems to Agger have thrown their futures into doubt.
Skrtel and Agger, both 29, are among the club’s higher earners and as Rodgers looks to assemble a squad capable of competing in the Champions Legaue next season, he may be looking to bring in fresh defensive blood.
David Hynter of the Observer writes on Hinteregger:
The tall and imposing Hinteregger caught the eye with his physicality and his composure on the ball. His style appears to be tailor-made for the Premier League. Since establishing himself at Salzburg, Hinteregger has also attracted the interest of Arsenal.
The young, tall defender “kept Suarez relatively quiet for most of the evening,” in Austria’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay, according to Ben Burrows of the Mirror.
Before making his international debut in a 1-0 win over USA in 2013, Hinteregger had made 13 appearances for Austria Under-21s.
The prospect of Champions League qualification has seen a flood of Liverpool transfer news and the Reds were also linked with Valencia midfielder Dani Parejo this week, with the Spanish central midfielder another possible transfer target at Anfield.
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