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Liverpool are set to miss out on the January signing of 6ft 8in striker Lacina Traore as the Anzhi Makhachkala man is set to join Italian giants Juventus, according to the Express.
The Reds have been credited with a long-standing interest in the Ivory Coast international before he joined the big spending Russians last summer, and that interest reignited again before the previous January transfer window.
However, the club failed to make a move for him again during this summer’s window, but Brendan Rodgers had been keeping a close eye on his progress anyway.
But it now seems that he may well have missed his opportunity to move for the player after Serie A giants Juventus are preparing to steal in for him as Anzhi look to offload their highest earning stars.
Reports in Russia suggest that a £12m fee has already been agreed between the Turin club and Anzhi.
Anzhi have already offloaded Willian and Samuel Eto’o to Chelsea and Christopher Samba to Dynamo Moscow, who are now managed by former Chelsea defender Dan Petrescu.
Petrescu had previously worked with Traore when the pair were at Kuban Kasnodar, and he has conceded defeat in his own quest to sign the player after saying the deal with Juventus was all but agreed.
“I would love to but in January, Lacina will be a Juventus player,” Petrescu said.