Liverpool defender Joe Gomez already has first-hand experience of the problems one Liverpool target can cause as Jürgen Klopp pursues a unique combination.
In the first half of Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Southampton last November — the Reds’ final game before the World Cup break — center-back Joe Gomez battled for a loose ball just inside the Saints half.
The man he was up against was former Manchester City midfielder Roméo Lavia, who got there first and dinked the ball delicately over his outstretched boot. After bringing it under control, he safely shuffled it onto teammate James Ward-Prowse as Gomez tried to intervene, and Southampton was able to go back on the offensive.
Jürgen Klopp didn’t know it at the time, but this was his first glimpse of a player who now looks destined to play for Liverpool.
That particular duel against Gomez stood out as a highlight, because it demonstrated Lavia’s excellent footwork. He showed in his first year at top-flight level that he’s able to gather a bouncing ball quickly and evade challenges through impressive close control.
Those abilities led Southampton writer Fraser Spinney to compare Lavia to former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba (via This is Anfield), and while Reds fans may bristle at that statement given that Pogba was largely a $116m (£90m/€105m) disappointment for their arch-rivals, we’re still talking about World Cup winner who had all the characteristics to be dominant in midfield.
Gomez certainly wasn’t Lavia’s only victim — in fact, he developed a habit of showing up big names in his meetings with some of the top sides in the division.
On the opening day of the season against Spurs, Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski converged on Lavia on the edge of his own penalty area, but he simply backheeled it through the sliding-doors challenge before he was brought down. He doesn’t take long to map his way out of high-pressure situations.
When Southampton visited Chelsea in February, he shrugged off Mateo Kovačić, jinked past Enzo Fernández and forced João Félix to go to ground and bring him down. Here, he displayed the strength required to keep his body between man and ball, and the balance which makes him so difficult to dispossess.
And at Old Trafford in March, he shaped his body as if he was going to retreat towards his own goal but then darted the other way, leaving Jadon Sancho on the floor before nicking the ball past a lunging Antony. This is one of many instances where he’s lulled players into over-committing before making them look silly.
Because Lavia is so agile, he can leave the opponent guessing about which way he’s going to go before quickly shifting the ball past them. Sometimes he doesn’t even need to touch the ball, simply spinning and letting it roll through his legs, then sprinting away.
Intriguingly, Spinney also compares Lavia to N’Golo Kanté, another member of that World Cup-winning France side, in his ability to cover ground and anticipate danger, though he does stress that ‘he has a long way to go’ before he can match him.
You can certainly see where he’s coming from. Lavia is usually able to predict which direction the ball will go, identifying clues from players’ body shape and glances and then closing off the angle or halting their dribble.
He seems to be one step ahead of both his opponent and even his own teammates in his reading of the game and his reaction times. There are moments where it looks as if the man on the ball is surprised by the speed at which he arrives on the scene.
That, of course, is a testament to Lavia’s intelligence, and he combines that with good speed across the ground to get there in timeThe 19-year-old doesn’t just patrol the defensive third either, pushing up into the middle third of the pitch to win possession and also covering both flanks.
This blend of Pogba and Kanté-esque traits makes him a unique number six, and gives him a ceiling few in his position can matc
While the price tag may seem steep initially — Southampton wants $64m (£50m/€58m), via The Athletic — it could certainly look like a bargain in the long termh.
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