Liverpool reignite interest in signing Southampton defender Nathaniel Clyne

Liverpool are reportedly ready to rekindle their interest in Southampton defender Nathaniel Clyne after having a £10m ($15.6m) bid rejected last month.

According to the Liverpool Echo, Brendan Rodgers is set to make another move for the Saints defender with the club preparing a better offer.

The St Mary's outfit is reluctant to lose the defender, and despite Clyne entering the final year of his contract, they value him at £15m ($23.4m). The Reds raided the south coast club last summer signing Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren, souring relations between the two clubs.

Southampton have offered the defender a new contract, but the report claims that the club are resigned to losing him in the summer. Moreover, the Northern Irishman is keen on signing a right back this summer following the release of Glen Johnson, and has earmarked the Saints star to fill the void left by the Englishman.

Apart from Liverpool, arch rivals Manchester United have also shown interest in the Saints star in the past. Louis van Gaal is looking to bring in a new right sided defender, but it was believed that the Red Devils had cooled their interest. However, in light of Dani Alves' new Barcelona deal, the report suggests that the Dutch manager has rekindled his interest in the player.

Clyne has been impressive in his three seasons at the club following his arrival from Crystal Palace and his performances saw him being called up to the senior England team.

The 24-year-old defender, who won his fifth Three Lions cap during their 3-2 victory over Slovenia on Sunday, displayed unhappiness at being used as a substitute. England boss Roy Hodgson opted to start with Phil Jones at right-back and later used Jordan Henderson, only turning to Clyne in the final minutes of the game.

The Three Lions boss has made it clear to the players that club form will not entitle them to a guaranteed starting place in the team and believes that he made the right decision in starting the Untied defender ahead of Clyne.

"Jones is a top-quality player. We have great faith in him and we are very happy with him," Hodgson said, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo.

"We think Nathaniel Clyne is a very good player but I would be disappointed if anyone thought that on the basis of a good season with their clubs they can walk in and demand a place."

"If I were to play him and leave out Phil Jones there would have been a lot of questions about 'Don't you rate Phil Jones?' and 'Don't you think he's a man of the future?' I didn't notice Clyne walk off (at the end of Sunday's game) and you would have to ask him," the former Fulham manager explained.

"He's a good lad, he's been very solid since he's come in and we like him very much. I would be surprised if he did that. I spoke to him and explained what I was doing but you can't expect everyone to be happy."