Liverpool confirm loan signing of Steven Caulker

Liverpool have announced the loan signing of QPR centre-back Steven Caulker.

Manager Jurgen Klopp was keen to bring in defensive reinforcements this month after hamstring injuries to Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren left him short of options.

A deal for the 24-year-old, who had been on loan at Southampton, was finalised swiftly and the paperwork submitted ahead of the noon deadline, meaning he is eligible for selection to face Arsenal on Wednesday.

Caulker is expected to train with his new team-mates on Tuesday afternoon after travelling from London.

He has made just eight appearances for Southampton this season — the last of which came against Liverpool in last month's 6-1 Capital One Cup quarter-final defeat — but only one of those was a Premier League start, back in August.

On that basis his loan deal was cancelled, allowing him to make the move to Merseyside.

Liverpool's scouting department are more than familiar with the former Tottenham defender as he was a target for previous manager Brendan Rodgers.

Kolo Toure (cramp) and Mamadou Sakho (knee) both look likely to be fit to face the Gunners, so the best Caulker can hope for is a place on the bench.