Dejan Lovren has certainly not had it easy at Liverpool since his move from Southampton in 2014.

The defender has struggled for consistency at the back, and as a result has faced intense criticism from fans.

Nevertheless, the Croatian has soldiered on and now seems to be first-choice centre-back to partner Virgil van Dijk.

The impact that the Dutchman has had since his arrival from Southampton in January should not be downplayed.

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The 26-year-old has organised the back line and his confidence has spread throughout the team, particularly Lovren.

Despite his notable improvements, the defender is still prone to mistakes and in recent matches has switched off at times.

However, Lovren will likely get the nod from manager Jurgen Klopp to start alongside Van Dijk in the Champions League final against Real Madrid in Kiev on Saturday.

In an interesting interview with Robbie Fowler for The Mirror, Klopp gave a frank assessment of his centre-back, and explained why he substituted him 25 minutes into a clash against Tottenham Hotspur.

The German coach went on to say how he regards Lovren as world class.

"I took Dejan off after 25 minutes and I didn't speak to him afterwards. But then a few days later I saw him waiting for my talk, so I said, come in. 'You took me off after 20 minutes'. Because you were bad.

"But I said to him - maybe this was the decisive moment when he got it - I think he's a world class centre half, 100%. Yes with weakness, concentration can happen from time to time, could be harder here, whatever. But he is a world class centre half, otherwise he would not be here any more."

Liverpool fans have so often been quick to criticise Lovren - valued at £15.3m by Transfermarkt, but it seems that the majority have made a very quick turnaround.

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