Liverpool are stepping up their interest in Molde defender Vegard Forren and will now look to land him in the January transfer window, according to the Daily Mirror. The centre-back is expected to join the Reds on trail soon, before completing a reported £4m switch.

Forren was strongly linked with a move to Everton but the Toffees' financial issues have scuppered their interest in the Norwegian international. Reds boos Brendan Rodgers is currently looking to provide cover to his centre-back positions, with Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel, the aging Jamie Carragher and the inexperienced Sebastian Coates being the only recognised players available for selection.

Vegard Forren
moldefk.no

Forren has made 30 appearances this season for Molde and his performances have led him to his first cap for the senior national team against Switzerland in the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2014, back in October. The player has revealed that he is interested in making a move to England but will not be reluctant in a transfer to the other leagues also.

"I know there is interest from different clubs, but I don't have a good overview of the situation. I am not ruling out other leagues, but I have said that I am keen to go to England. For me, the Premier League is the best place to play. That is what we are working on," Forren said.

Southampton are also reportedly interested in signing the 24-year-old, while Manchester United, Fulham and Sunderland are keeping tabs on the youngster as well.

Downing: We Showed United Too Much Respect

Meanwhile, Stuart Downing has insisted that Liverpool's first half performance was central to their 2-1 loss to United at Old Trafford. The Red Devils played freely before the break but the Reds came back in the second and pulled a goal back through Daniel Sturrdige minutes, after Patrice Evra doubled the lead for the Red Devils.

However, despite creating several chances afterwards, the Reds failed to equalise, and the loss leaves them eighth in the league with 31 points.

"In the end, we're disappointed that we didn't take anything out of the game. We should have got a draw. We probably let them control it in the first half. We sat back too much and just let them have the ball too much. We showed United too much respect. The manager stressed at half-time that we needed to push on and put them under pressure more when they had the ball," Downing said.

Manchester United FC