Romeo Lavia, a Belgian midfielder, is anticipated to leave Southampton after they were demoted, and Liverpool has become one of their “admirers.”
Lavia, who has excelled in midfield since joining Southampton from Manchester City, is one of the few players to emerge from Southampton’s disastrous season with any credit.
The 19-year-old, a commanding defensive midfielder for the south coast club this season, has made 33 appearances, starting 28 of them, and is drawing significant interest.
Liverpool, Chelsea, even Man City are among the teenager’s “admirers,” according to GOAL’s Neil Jones.
The Reds are reportedly “conscious of Lavia’s growth,” and even if Alexis MacAllister and Mason Mount are still the club’s top objectives, “there are some at Anfield who believe [he] is a player who might make a difference.
Liverpool has obviously been linked with an interest in Lavia before.
Earlier this month, Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri told The Redmen TV that Liverpool are the “closest club” to signing the midfielder and that Klopp “loves” him.
There are currently no offers from Liverpool. That is without a doubt, Tavolieri said.
But [their] idea is the one that Lavia finds to be most convincing, so I believe Liverpool will win.
Despite this, a number of obstacles stand in the way of Lavia moving to Anfield, not the least of which being the estimated cost at St Mary’s.
Just two months after his transfer from Man City, Chelsea made Southampton the subject of an odd bid worth roughly £50 million towards the close of the summer transfer window. The bid was swiftly turned down.
That would almost certainly serve as a standard in talks with interested parties this summer, even with the club’s relegation.
- After selling Lavia in July, Man City still has a buy-back provision that allows them to re-sign him for £40 million. The buy-back clause was initially worth £10.5 million and increased to £14 million. The international player from Belgium still has four years left on his deal, therefore the valuation is anticipated to remain high even when this option takes effect in 2024.
