His last match was against Huddersfield Town, but Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva may play his next in very different surroundings.

Galatasaray in Turkey have reportedly been chasing the 29-year-old, who went off injured with 23 minutes left of the Shankly Trophy match against Town at the John Smith’s Stadium.

But now Inter Milan are said to be trailing the Brazilian, who is under treatment for a hamstring problem and is thought not to feature prominently in manager Jurgen Klopp’s plans.

The Italian newspaper Corriere Dello Sport believe Inter manager Roberto Mancini wants either Lucas or Marseille midfielder Lassana Diarra to add to his squad.

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And the Italian club believe they can sign Lucas, with him not keen on playing as a centre-back once again next season.

The arrival of Georginio Wijnaldum at Anfield means there is even greater competition for the two central midfield positions in Klopp’s system.

The German manager has already commented that Wijnaldum can play in a number of positions including in the ‘2’ or in the ‘3’ in the 4-2-3-1 formation.

With Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Emre Can all competing for two positions, and even with Joe Allen departing for Stoke City this week, Lucas will have very few opportunities in his favoured role and it is believed that he does not favour playing in the back line again, where Jurgen Klopp employed him on a number of occasions in the second half of last season.

Against Town, it created a stir when holding midfielder Lucas limped off because he was replaced in an attacking role, amid a reshuffle, by goalkeeper Shamal George.

The 18-year-old, who has No80 on his goalkeeping kit, played without a number on his borrowed red shirt.

Shamal George of Liverpool