1 year ago
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Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images
The Reds will face competition but are reportedly the player’s favoured destination.
Amid the departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho — confirmed and pending, respectively — to the Saudi Professional League, Liverpool are scrambling to make up numbers in a midfield that has, thus far, replaced two of the five departing players.
Names, both realistic and fanciful, are being thrown around by journalists and clout-seekers looking to make their mark by being the first to correctly predict what the Reds will eventually do, but one name that has been consistent all summer is Roméo Lavia.
The Southampton midfielder was linked with a move to Merseyside as early as April this year, and while the noise quieted somewhat after the acquisitions of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, the recent flurry of activity out of Saudi Arabia has seen the player’s name rise to the top of rumour mill once again.
After a £37m bid was rejected by Southampton yesterday, the Reds have reportedly transmitted an improved offer this morning, worth £45m including add-ons, according to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri. Reports from Ben Jacobs have suggested that Chelsea have entered the fray after Brighton rejected an £80m bid for Moisés Caicedo, but both journalists agree that as it stands, the player and his representatives would prefer a move to Anfield.
A talented but raw midfield tweener, Lavia might not yet be ready to step into a starting role in the deepest midfield slot for a team that aims to win the biggest prizes every year, and as, such, might not represent the last of Liverpool’s business should the deal go through, but he would offer an excellent age profile, dynamism, extensive experience despite his tender years, and serious developmental upside down the line.
With the teams reportedly not far apart in their valuation, the player keen, and day one of the Premier League fast approaching, don’t be surprised if this one becomes reality sooner rather than later.
