Exclusive: Lyon line up £10m bid for defender who's blown Liverpool scouts away

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Published on:

25 Apr 2019, 6:58 am

EXCLUSIVE By Pete O'Rourke

Lyon are lining up a £10million bid for Norwich City defender Ben Godfrey as they look to beat Liverpool, Arsenal Manchester United to his signature, Football Insider understands.

Godfrey has been earning reviews for Norwich since establishing himself as a regular starter in Daniel Farke's promotion-chasing side since December.

The 21-year-old has been a revelation since being moved into central defence by Farke and his performances have brought him to the attention of a number of top clubs across Europe.

Premier League trio Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal have all made regular checks on Godfrey in recent months as Norwich have pushed for promotion from the Championship.

A source close to the player has told Football Insider that Lyon have joined the hunt for Godfrey with the club's head of recruitment Florian Maurice having scouted the England Under-20 international in his last five games for Norwich.

Lyon see Godfrey as a potential star in the making, as having been a midfielder before moved into defence, he is comfortable playing out from the back and is strong and powerful in both boxes.

The Ligue 1 outfit are on course to qualify for next season's Champions League and they are ready to steal a march on their English rivals for Godfrey by bidding £10million for the former York City youngster as soon as the season finishes.

Norwich are keen to keep hold of Godfrey and will fight any attempts to lure their prize asset away as they will want him in the Premier League next season if they go on to win promotion.

As reported by Football Insider, the Canaries are ready to offer a new contract to the rising star to keep him out of rival clutches.

Liverpool's scouts have been blown away by the development of Godfrey and regard him as a potential replacement this summer for Dejan Lovren.

In other Liverpool transfer news, RB Leipzig move in on signing red-hot Anfield ace who has just rejected a new five-year contract.

Liverpool FC