Christian Poulsen's unhappy spell at Liverpool is drawing to a close after the Reds confirmed they have allowed him to speak to French side Evian Thonon Gaillard.

GettyImagesChristian Poulsen is behind Charlie Adam, among a number of others, in Liverpool's midfield pecking order

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Poulsen, 31, was brought to the club in summer 2010 by former boss Roy Hodgson but, following Kenny Dalglish's appointment as manager, struggled to break into the first team.

Now he is set to follow Alberto Aquilani and Emiliano Insua out of the Anfield exit door as Liverpool attempt to thin out their squad following the arrivals of Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson, Jose Enrique and Alexander Doni this summer.

The signing of Poulsen, recently linked to Espanyol, would represent something of a coup for Ligue 1 newcomers Evian.