Liverpool have made a move for released Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has previously made no secret of his desire for a new defender and the club have now acted by making first contact with Greece international Sokratis, says the Athletic.

The 32-year-old is a free agent after ending his Arsenal deal by mutual consent last week.

Sokratis, a vastly experienced player with 463 club appearances and 90 caps for his country, still had six months left to run on his contract but had been left isolated by manager Mikel Arteta, having failed to feature since August.

He knows Klopp well from their time together at Dortmund - the German signed him for the Bundesliga club in 2013 and enjoyed a close relationship for two seasons before the boss left for Liverpool.

However, the report claims that Liverpool have only checked on his situation at present and are not yet in formal talks - with the player likely to link up with Olympiacos in his native Greece.