Newcastle United are reportedly interested in signing Genoa central defender Andreas Granqvist.

Liverpool are also interested in bringing the 6 foot 3 Swedish international to the Premier League as they look set to battle it out in January.

Granqvist has had Premier League experience in the past spending just over a year at Wigan in 2007 after signing permanently following a successful loan spell.

Liverpool have already seen a bid for the 27-year-old rejected when they offered the Italian side £4.5million in the summer. It is believed that if Granqvist is set to return to the Premier League it will be with a fee bigger than Liverpool’s initial bid.

The defender has two and a half years left on his contract so the Italian side are in no rush to sell the player, instead they can hold on for the best possible deal. With 27 caps for Sweden he has only made 28 appearances with Genoa for since his move in the summer of 2011.

Newcastle have previously highlighted their defence as being an area to strengthen but at 28, some are questioning whether this will be in keeping with the club’s transfer policy.

Granqvist was present for his country’s 4-2 victory over England last week and although £4.5million is not the most expensive fee for an international defender it is £2.5million more than what Genoa paid for him 18 months ago.

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