According to respected journalist Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool are preparing to make a second bid for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia as they look to ward off competition from Chelsea.
The Merseyside giants have already reinforced their midfield department with the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, but they are still keen on pursuing a deal for Lavia from the Saints. An opening bid of £37 million was rejected on Tuesday, and Romano claims that Liverpool are almost ready with a renewed proposal.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are planning to propose a guarantee fee of £42.5 million plus £2.5m in add-ons for the Belgium international. Liverpool want to be fast with the transfer process, considering Chelsea are still interested in the player and are keeping a close eye on him. Arsenal, however, have cooled their interest with Thomas Partey likely to stay.
Quick deal
Jordan Henderson has completed his much-awaited move to Saudi Arabia with Al-Ettifaq and it is anticipated that Fabinho could move to Al-Ittihad in the coming days. The duo’s departure should cover up the expenditure for Lavia. Hence, it is unsurprising that Liverpool are pushing ahead with their approach to land Lavia from Southampton.
Southampton have been adamant that they won’t accept less than £50 million for the teenager and it remains to be seen whether Liverpool can convince them with their second proposal. Chelsea are currently watching from the background, and could yet hijack the potential deal, having recouped more than £200 million from outgoings this summer.
Lavia would be an excellent signing for any top Premier League outfit. At the age of 19, he has shown good maturity from the no.6 role. He was exceptional in his debut top-flight campaign last season. His distribution was pretty good while he also made crunch tackles and won ground duels against some of the league’s best players.
Adding him to Mac Allister and Szoboszlai in the squad would represent a superb piece of business for Liverpool.
