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Liverpool are set to miss out on Molde defender Vegard Forren, with the player moving to Southampton.

Forren, 24, was due at Melwood today to begin a trial with Liverpool with a view to a possible £4million move.

However the Norwegian international centre-half has instead headed to Southampton for talks over a switch to St Mary's.

Southampton boss Nigel Adkins is keen to sign Forren without seeing him on trial and the Molde star feels his first-team opportunities will be greater at Saints than at Liverpool.

Molde boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Forren is likely to join the South Coast club.

"There have been many inquiries from various English clubs, but Southampton submitted an offer, it was very interesting for us and Vegard," he said.

"We are more or less agreed with the club, but nothing is a 100 per cent."

(Image: Getty)

Southampton's former Norwegian defender Claus Lundekvam appears to have played a key role in Forren's switch of destination after recommending him to Adkins.

"I got a call from Southampton about a month before Christmas and I highly recommended him," he said.

"Southampton have been looking for a top-class defender for a long time, and Forren is a type that fits in with the way they play.”

Southampton bid 'accepted'

Molde have accepted a bid from Southampton for Norway centre-back Vegard Forren, the Press Association reportedly understands, writes MirrorFootball.

Forren's agent is reported to be meeting representatives from the Barclays Premier League strugglers in London today in the hope of agreeing personal terms.

Forren joined Molde in 2007 and went on to become one of the club's star players.

The tall centre back has played close to 150 games for Solskjaer's side and last year helped the club win their second domestic championship.

Southampton manager Nigel Adkins sees Forren as the solution to his team's defensive woes this term. The south-coast club may have moved out of the relegation zone in recent weeks, but they have conceded 38 goals in 21 Barclays Premier League matches so far this season.