Exclusive update on Liverpool and Chelsea’s interest in a £50 million transfer from Fabrizio Romano.

In his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Fabrizio Romano claims that Liverpool are still interested in signing Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia as Jordan Henderson nears a departure.

The midfielder Moises Caicedo of Brighton is still Chelsea’s top priority, according to Romano, and Southampton’s £50 million asking price for Lavia is still a problem. Chelsea may also be interested in Lavia.

Liverpool is expected to remain busy this summer, but since they don’t want to spend £50 million on Lavia, it’s possible that they’ll look for other targets.

LFC might want to act quickly and not let the intriguing young Belgian international get away because the Caicedo deal is taking so long. It is definitely worth keeping an eye on Chelsea and Lavia as a result.

Even though Chelsea has sold a lot of players this summer, the Reds must be ready for another significant change if Henderson leaves Liverpool.

“A verbal agreement was already in place, and I can now also confirm that the player underwent his medical on Friday night, so Jordan Henderson to Al Ettifaq is now almost a done deal. The agreement will be signed the following week, meaning Henderson’s departure from Liverpool is almost complete, according to Romano.

“They continue to work on Romeo Lavia while remaining with Liverpool. Although no bids or club-to-club negotiations have advanced, contacts are being made with the player’s agents, who are attempting to determine the final price. Liverpool is hoping for a different price than what Southampton has consistently demanded—around £50 million. They have other targets as well, but he is a specific one, and Liverpool are still after him.

While it’s impossible to predict the precise number of signings, Liverpool will undoubtedly be busy; it just depends on opportunities, according to Jurgen Klopp, who has hinted that things will happen before the end of the summer.

Because Joe Shields is a Chelsea director, Chelsea is also keeping an eye on the Lavia situation, but it is unrelated to the Moises Caicedo transaction. Caicedo continues to be Chelsea’s top priority, but Shields played with Lavia at Southampton and Manchester City, so he is familiar with the player and there is a good connection. ”.

More news…….

Liverpool’s problems might be solved by making the nine league winners available for transfer

Liverpool remain on the hunt for midfield reinforcements in the summer transfer window with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho set to leave soon and Marco Verratti could be the perfect fit.

Liverpool’s search for reinforcements in midfield has become even more important with the imminent departure of Jordan Henderson.

The Reds have reportedly agreed a £12million transfer fee for the 33-year-old midfielder with Saudi side Al-Ettifaq, with additional surcharges likely to increase the total. The move sees Henderson reuniting with former Liverpool team-mate and legend Steven Gerrard, who recently took charge of Al-Ettifaq.

Liverpool are also facing the impending departure of Fabinho after receiving a £40m offer from Saudi Pro-League club Al-Ittihad. Fabinho’s absence was evident as he didn’t travel with the first team for the pre-season game against Karlsruher in Germany. The Brazilian midfielder is expected to complete his move to the Middle East soon, bringing his successful five-year spell to a close at Liverpool. Liverpool have already started identifying replacements for the pair, having previously signed Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.

Several names have been linked with a possible move to Anfield, including Romeo Lavia, Ryan Gravenberch and Cheick Doucoure, but the latest player to be named is Marco Verratti, the Liverpool Echo reports. The Italian midfielder has been a key figure at Paris Saint-Germain for more than a decade and reports suggest all PSG players are available for a transfer this summer.

Liverpool could potentially exploit this situation and make a transfer to the 30-year-old. Despite his age, Verratti still has a three-year deal with PSG and is likely to ask for a hefty transfer fee.

Verratti has only faced Liverpool once in a competitive match, during the group stage of the Reds’ victorious 2018-19 Champions League season. Although he missed the thrilling 3-2 draw at Anfield, he returned for the rematch in Paris and spoke highly of Jürgen Klopp’s side.

Acknowledging the challenge Liverpool presented, he said: “It has been good for Liverpool to have won all our games, but Liverpool will be different. They are a team that play very well at home.” They have Champions League experience having reached the final last season. For us it’s an important test, not a decisive one, but it’s nice to start with a complicated game.”

Analysis of Verratti’s stats from the 2022/23 season provides insight into the impact he could have on the Liverpool midfield. Although he has played seven fewer league games than Fabinho, Verratti has surpassed the Brazilian in several categories.

He completed nearly three times as many progressive ball handlers per 90 minutes (40 vs. 15) and maintained a superior passing rate (92.6% vs. 88.3%). Verratti’s total number of passes in Ligue 1 (2,383) far surpassed Fabinho’s total in the Premier League (1,617), highlighting his outstanding passing ability

Defensively, Verratti also stood out, averaging 3.11 tackles per game to Fabinho’s 2.19. He consistently outperformed Fabinho in stopping attacks from attacking players, with 1.56 successful tackles against dribblers per game compared to Fabinho’s 0.81. Verratti also had more blocks per 90 minutes (1.72 vs 1.28).

The comparison between Verratti and Henderson also reveals the superiority of the Italian in several key statistics. Verratti’s 92.6 percent completion rate surpasses Henderson’s 83 percent, as do his average number of tackles per 90 minutes (3.11 vs. 1.39), challenges per 90 minutes (1.56 vs. 0.65), and blocks per 90 minutes (1.72 vs.
0.91).

While Liverpool will no doubt face challenges in the absence of Fabinho and Henderson, the potential signing of a player like Verratti could ease the impact of their departure.