Liverpool may soon complete transfer different from what Jürgen Klopp has tried before

Liverpool are eyeing a $64 million transfer this week and it would represent a major change from what the Reds were previously going for under Jurgen Klopp.

With it looking like Roméo Lavia could become the next summer signing to go through the door to Liverpool this summer, there is no doubt that the young Belgian would be an exciting addition.

The 19-year-old has all the skills needed to become a truly adept player at the base of The Reds’ midfield, but he would also represent a complete change from what Liverpool usually aim for in the market.

Liverpool normally opt for slightly more established players who are three or four years older. This allows their development to take place on the books of other clubs and there is more certainty about the player’s true potential.

The more data behind someone, the less risk there is associated with the transfer. Perhaps the explanation is simply that there are no midfielders aged between 22 and 24 who Liverpool’s recruitment team believe are of the required, accessible and achievable standard.

The going rate appears to be over $100 million for settled options: Declan Rice has already moved and likely would have been out of the Reds’ price range; Enzo Fernández was also admired before joining Chelsea in January (again for a huge sum).

But Lavia, with just one full senior season to his name and a total of 29 appearances for Southampton, would be a very different kind of signing. He would be much cheaper than Rice or Fernández, but would come with more unknowns.

With a valuation of $64m (£50m/€58m), it’s no small investment to make either. Every senior player that Jürgen Klopp has signed since signing for Liverpool has played football for around five full seasons before moving to Anfield, as the list follows:

2023/24:

Dominik Szoboszlai — $77 million, six seasons of senior football when he signed

Alexis Mac Allister-$45 million, seven seasons of senior football when he signed

2022/23:

Darwin Núñez-$83 million, five seasons of senior football when he signed

Cody Gakpo-$48 million, four and a half seasons of senior football when he signed

2021/22:

Luis Díaz-$48 million, five and a half seasons of senior football when he signed

Ibrahima Konaté – $46 million, five seasons of senior football when he signed

2020/21:

Diogo Jota — $53 million, six seasons of senior football when he signed

Thiago Alcântara – $32 million, 11 seasons of senior football when signed

2019/20:

Takumi Minamino – $9 million, eight seasons of senior football when signed

2018/19:

Alisson Becker – $84 million, five seasons of senior football when he signed

Naby Keïta – $68 million, six seasons of senior football when he signed

Fabinho – $51 million, six seasons of senior football when he signed

Xherdan Shaqiri – $17 million, nine seasons of senior football when he signed

2017/18:

Virgil van Dijk — $97 million, seven seasons of senior football when he signed

Mohamed Salah – $47 million, seven seasons of senior football when he signed

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – $45 million, seven seasons of senior football when he signed

Andy Robertson – $10 million, five seasons of senior football when he signed

2016/17:

Sadio Mané-$45 million, five seasons of senior football when he signed

Gini Wijnaldum-$32 million, nine seasons of senior football when he signed

Joël Matip — Free transfer, seven seasons of senior football when signed

There’s no doubt that Lavia could be a great signing for Liverpool, but there’s no other way to judge him than to see him as a higher-risk signing than what the Reds are usually looking for.

For the asking price of $64 million, Lavia would become Liverpool’s sixth-biggest signing of all-time, despite the small sample of what he can do. This brings excitement for what it could become, but it also represents something of a gamble.