Ronald Koeman insisted somewhat improbably at his first press conference as Southampton manager that the Saints “are not a selling club”. Yet he has already walked into a battle to prevent a fourth first-team player from leaving St Mary’s this summer.

Rickie Lambert and captain Adam Lallana have joined Liverpool, and a third England player, Luke Shaw, has decamped to Manchester United, for combined fees of around £50million – deals done, Koeman admitted, before he arrived.

But Croatia defender Dejan Lovren is also a Liverpool target and said last week that his “head is at Anfield”, claiming that Southampton had reneged on a verbal agreement to sell him when bidding reached £20m. Koeman denied any knowledge of such an agreement but said: “I know Liverpool got a lot of money now after the transfer [of Luis Suarez to Barcelona] and normally they will spend that money and they will buy players and maybe they will buy one player of Southampton. That’s a decision of the board. But we’ve sold three players and that’s enough.”

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Shape Created with Sketch. Liverpool transfer targets: Who might they sign this summer? Show all 5 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Liverpool transfer targets: Who might they sign this summer? 1/5 Wilfried Bony The Swansea striker is one of many attacking targets linked with Liverpool. He only move to South Wales at the start of last season but had a great campaign that brought 16 goals in 34 Premier League appearances. The Ivory Coast international will cost in the region of £20m. Reuters 2/5 Mohamed Diame Mohamed Diame said he was on the verge of a move to Liverpool in 2012 but the dismissal of Kenny Dalglish scuppered the deal. The West Ham attacking midfielder has stated more recently that he wants to play for a bigger side. Having impressed last term with goals and assists to his name at Upton Park, a move to Anfield could be back on. Getty Images 3/5 Mateo Kovacic The last player Liverpool signed from Inter Milan, Philippe Coutinho, was rather successful. So it's no surprise Liverpool have been linked with rising star Mateo Kovacic. Th 20-year-old has a long-term deal at the San Siro and says he is happy to remain in Italy having joined in a £12.4m deal in 2013. GETTY IMAGES 4/5 Mario Balotelli AC Milan appear ready to sell the former Manchester City player and he's been strongly linked with a return to the Premier League. Arsenal were understood to be the front-runners in the chase for the striker but the departure of Suarez has seen Liverpool emerge as contenders. Getty Images 5/5 Ezequiel Lavezzi The Argentina international was linked with a move to Liverpool following the collapse of the move for Loic Remy. The PSG forward could be available due to the expected arrival of Angel Di Maria in the French capital. Lavezzi scored nine goals in 32 Ligue 1 appearances last term and has notched seven goals in 19 Champions League appearances since joining the club for £24m. GETTY IMAGES 1/5 Wilfried Bony The Swansea striker is one of many attacking targets linked with Liverpool. He only move to South Wales at the start of last season but had a great campaign that brought 16 goals in 34 Premier League appearances. The Ivory Coast international will cost in the region of £20m. Reuters 2/5 Mohamed Diame Mohamed Diame said he was on the verge of a move to Liverpool in 2012 but the dismissal of Kenny Dalglish scuppered the deal. The West Ham attacking midfielder has stated more recently that he wants to play for a bigger side. Having impressed last term with goals and assists to his name at Upton Park, a move to Anfield could be back on. Getty Images 3/5 Mateo Kovacic The last player Liverpool signed from Inter Milan, Philippe Coutinho, was rather successful. So it's no surprise Liverpool have been linked with rising star Mateo Kovacic. Th 20-year-old has a long-term deal at the San Siro and says he is happy to remain in Italy having joined in a £12.4m deal in 2013. GETTY IMAGES 4/5 Mario Balotelli AC Milan appear ready to sell the former Manchester City player and he's been strongly linked with a return to the Premier League. Arsenal were understood to be the front-runners in the chase for the striker but the departure of Suarez has seen Liverpool emerge as contenders. Getty Images 5/5 Ezequiel Lavezzi The Argentina international was linked with a move to Liverpool following the collapse of the move for Loic Remy. The PSG forward could be available due to the expected arrival of Angel Di Maria in the French capital. Lavezzi scored nine goals in 32 Ligue 1 appearances last term and has notched seven goals in 19 Champions League appearances since joining the club for £24m. GETTY IMAGES

Koeman pointed out that Lovren has three years’ contract remaining, and was openly critical of the decision to go public. “You should keep this information within the club and not in the press,” he said. “That was not a good thing on his side. We expect Dejan Lovren back on Sunday [for a pre-season tour of Belgium and Holland]. We will have a talk and see if he’s present on Sunday.”

He has signed Dusan Tadic from FC Twente for £10m as a replacement for Lallana, and believes that Feyenoord will sell Italian forward Graziano Pelle for around £9m. He also denied that a bid had been received from Tottenham Hotspur, managed by Mauricio Pochettino, his predecessor, for the midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin.

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