Tiago Ilori is set to leave Liverpool for Reading this month, with the two clubs agreeing a deal worth £3.75 million on Thursday afternoon.
Ilori was previously reported to be due for a loan move to the Madejski Stadium, but manager Jaap Stam has seemingly pushed for a permanent agreement.
The 23-year-old is now able to discuss terms with Reading, and if this is successful, Ilori’s move will end a four-year spell with the Reds.
That is according to the Liverpool Echo, with the reported fee set to make the club a profit.
Liverpool paid an initial £3.5 million to bring Ilori to Anfield, and are not believed to have met any add-ons that could have seen that fee rise to £7.5 million.
Furthermore, a 25 percent sell-on clause has been negotiated into the agreement with Reading, which may see the Reds benefit further in the future.
Reading are currently third in the Championship, challenging for automatic promotion with the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United, and Stam is clearly eager to add quality to his squad.
Ilori has not played regular first-team football since his loan with Bordeaux in 2014/15, having spent a miserable six months with Aston Villa last season.
He returned from his loan spell with the Villans to make three FA Cup appearances for Jurgen Klopp‘s side last term, but dropped back down to the Liverpool U23s this season.
Though he has featured regularly alongside Mamadou Sakho and Joe Gomez in 2016/17 so far, a move away from Merseyside would be beneficial.
Liverpool were seeking to sell Ilori in the summer, but were short of suitors interested in a permanent deal, with Reading’s offer clearly matching their expectations in January.
Ilori could be the first player to leave the club this month, though Sakho is likely to follow after his exile from Klopp’s first-team squad.
This will mark a frustrating conclusion following the duo’s arrival at the club in 2013, with Brendan Rodgers labelling the Reds’ combined £25 million outlay as a means to “protect the club for maybe the next 10 years.”
Lucas Leiva and Pedro Chirivella are among the players touted with loan moves, with the latter reportedly close to sealing a temporary switch to the Eredivisie with Go Ahead Eagles.
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