Liverpool bolster defence with Toure signing

Liverpool have agreed a deal in principle to sign Manchester City defender Kolo Toure.

The centre-back will be registered as a Reds player when his current contract at the Etihad Stadium expires in the coming weeks and he will officially join the club on July 1.

Manager Brendan Rodgers has turned to the 32-year-old in order to add some experience to his back four following the retirement of veteran Jamie Carragher.

The Reds boss is keen to get his business done as early as possible to avoid the sort of problems which arose last summer.

Then he loaned striker Andy Carroll to West Ham the day before the August deadline in the belief he would be signing Clint Dempsey.

But the move collapsed after owners Fenway Sports Group baulked at Fulham’s asking price for the then 29-year-old and the United States international moved to Tottenham.

With Toure approaching free agent status it was a relatively straightforward deal to complete and further additions in defence are expected.

The future of centre-back Martin Skrtel remains in doubt after the Slovakia international lost his place to Carragher in the second half of the season.

Comments from the player in his homeland over the weekend appeared to suggest a move was a possibility and with Sebastian Coates also likely to be moved on, Rodgers’ defence may need some rebuilding.

Toure’s vast wealth of Premier League experience, having joined Arsenal in 2002 before moving to City, provides an ideal stop-gap while the Reds boss looks for younger alternatives with greater potential.

Meanwhile, ambitious Monaco have completed the signing of Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho from Real Madrid.

The 35-year-old, a Champions League winner with Porto in 2004, has the option to extend his new one-year contract at the Stade Louis II by a further year.

The former Chelsea player said: “I’m very happy to join AS Monaco and to be part of the new adventure. This is a new challenge for me.”

Carvalho becomes the third high-profile player to join Monaco in five days after Porto duo Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez moved east for a combined transfer fee of €70 million.