MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND - Wednesday, September 25, 2019: Liverpool's Pedro Chirivella during the Football League Cup 3rd Round match between MK Dons FC and Liverpool FC at Stadium MK. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Pedro Chirivella poised to depart Liverpool after agreeing Ligue 1 switch

Pedro Chirivella looks finally set to depart Liverpool permanently, with the midfielder reportedly agreeing a move to Ligue 1 side Nantes.

The Spanish midfielder has agreed a three-year deal with his soon-to-be new club, report French outlet 20 Minutes,

One of the key players in this year’s inexperienced domstic cup side, Chirivella turns 23 later in May but has been unable to fully integrate himself in the first-team scene.

He has made 11 appearances all told for the Reds since joining in 2013, with further loan spells coming with Go Ahead Eagles and Willem II in the Dutch Eredivisie, plus an ill-fated and botched switch to Extramadura last season after a transfer to Rosenborg fell through.

This year he returned to the fold in Jurgen Klopp‘s second string, though his inclusion against MK Dons in the EFL Cup was controversial as he had not received international clearance, leading the Reds to be fined.

He did, however, play a full part in the FA Cup run, featuring for the full 90 minutes in knocking out Everton and Shrewsbury, before being an unused sub against Chelsea in round five.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, February 4, 2020: Liverpool's Adam Lewis (L) and Pedro Chirivella (R) celebrate with Under-23 manager Neil Critchley (C) after the FA Cup 4th Round Replay match between Liverpool FC and Shrewsbury Town at Anfield. Liverpool won 1-0. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

In moving to the French top flight, Chirivella will get the opportunity to show he can be a top-tier player on a more regular basis, with Nantes a mid-table side who finished 13th this term in the curtailed 19/20 campaign.

New team-mates, once the move is confirmed, will include the previously Liverpool-linked Moses Simon and ex-Man United full-back Fabio da Silva.

Earlier in the year he had hinted at being open to extending his contract, after impressing in those domestic cup fixtures, but he found regular game time impossible to come by with Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and the like ahead of him.

More recently, though, he acknowledged that the rest of this term was about learning from the world-class talents at Liverpool and the coaching staff, to prepare himself for a new challenge elsewhere.

It now appears that challenge will be in Ligue 1, where he will surely thrive when given the chance to play on a regular basis.

Good luck, Pedro!