Romeo Lavia, a midfielder for Southampton and a former Manchester City player, is still a target for Liverpool.
Liverpool still lacks a senior holding midfielder with just over a week until the start of the new Premier League season.
Jurgen Klopp has had to play Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones out of position as the Reds’ number six throughout preseason after waving off Jordan Henderson and Fabinho for a combined £52m after being caught off guard by interest from Saudi Arabia, and with Stefan Bajcetic only just on the verge of a return to team-training after suffering a season-ending injury in April.
While the German has repeatedly stated that the club is looking to address these issues, such a situation is far from ideal and leaves them with a clear void that still needs to be filled on the eve of the new season.
Romeo Lavia’s transfer from Southampton to Liverpool would have been finalized in an ideal world. The Reds had already identified the Belgian international as a potential long-term replacement for Fabinho, but the Saints’ £50 million asking price turned them away. However, the 19-year-old took more of the spotlight after both Henderson and the Brazilian left.
Both of Liverpool’s previous bids for Lavia have fallen short of the £50 million asking price. A second bid worth a total of £41 million was submitted earlier this week, while the initial offer was for £34 million with £4 million in add-ons.
The news that a late improved offer would only be worth £3 million more than the initial rejected bid naturally caused groans from Kopites given the Reds’ desperate need for a holding midfielder. It’s unclear if Liverpool will reach a breakthrough in their negotiations with Southampton as they now weigh their options and Andre Trindade of Fluminense has emerged as a potential replacement.
Meanwhile, Lavia’s season is scheduled to begin on Friday night when the Saints visit Sheffield Wednesday to begin the new Championship season. The Belgian is expected to participate, barring an accepted bid before kickoff.
When asked about the futures of Lavia and captain James Ward-Prowse, Southampton manager Russell Martin responded, “Do I think they will be Southampton players by the end of the window? I have no idea. “What I think and what I hope are probably very different.
“However, it would be useless to publicly state that I believe they will be here or that I do not, since in the end, I really have no control over that. If they both leave at some point, or if only one of them does, it will be because both the club and the player have achieved something that is advantageous to everyone.
“I believe that is why it has taken so long so far, and I believe that it might still take so long, but both of them have been great while they have been here, at very different stages of their careers. ”.
Why Liverpool is hesitant to shell out £50 million for Lavia is understandable, if not also frustrating. In their entire history, the Reds have only ever spent more than this amount on Virgil van Dijk, Darwin Nunez, Alisson Becker, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Naby Keita.
Only five other players—Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota, Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, and Fabinho—have cost Liverpool more than their initial £38 million offer for Lavia. But before moving to Anfield, each of these stars had a lot more experience than the Belgian international.
When high-profile players join the club, the club prefers that they have participated in between 150 and 200 senior games. The teen, in contrast, has made just 36 senior appearances, 34 of which came during his first year at St. Mary’s.
Lavia might be a long-term holding midfielder solution for Liverpool with a high ceiling, but it’s obvious that they are hesitant to depart from their tried-and-true transfer model at the moment.
As a result, the Reds’ own assessment of the player makes sense, but it’s also obvious why Southampton is holding out for £50 million for a player they only paid an initial £10 point 5 million, rising to a potential £14 million, on 13 months ago. Additionally, some of Liverpool’s competitors share some of the blame.
My old team, Manchester City, comes first. In the agreement that brought Lavia to the south coast, they included a 20 percent sell-on clause. They also have the right to match any accepted offers this summer and to repurchase the player for £40 million in 2024.
Although it’s unclear whether that sell-on clause is 20% of the total fee or just any profit Southampton makes on the player, it’s clear that it played a role in the Saints determining their asking price. City might have been entitled to £4.7m had they accepted Liverpool’s initial offer of an initial £34 million, depending on the specifics of the aforementioned transfer clauses.
In contrast, if City is only allowed to keep 20% of any profits, a full £50 million fee could cost City £7.9 million. A small number like that might not mean much at the Etihad, but St. Mary’s as Southampton tries to get an immediate promotion back to the Premier League.
And the difference between that opening offer and the Saints’ demand is what makes the difference between Southampton earning £29,3 million and £42,1 million. It makes sense that when determining their fee, they will take Man City’s debt into account.
Furthermore, if Liverpool are unwilling to pay £50 million, rival interest from clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United might at least lead to offers that are closer to what Southampton are seeking. And if no agreement is reached, Southampton has the security of still being able to demand £40 million next summer thanks to City’s buyback clause.
The Saints have already turned down one such offer, turning down a proposal from Chelsea on the day of the transfer deadline in September of last year, just two months after initially acquiring Lavia from City. Club executives apparently feel that since he is now a senior international and has Premier League experience, they should be able to demand the £50 million that they placed a value on him last summer.
As a result of Chelsea skewing the market by acquiring Enzo Fernandez for a Premier League-record £106.7m in January while also satisfying his full Benfica release clause, the market for midfielders is currently unreasonably high.
Since then, Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund has been acquired by Real Madrid for up to £115 million, Declan Rice from West Ham United was acquired by Arsenal for £100 million plus an additional $5 million in add-ons, and Moises Caicedo’s price tag from Brighton and Hove Albion remains at £100 million. Mason Mount’s contract was set to expire next summer, but Chelsea was still able to demand up to £60 million from Manchester United for him.
Lavia may not have the same level of experience as the aforementioned midfielders, but he has played in the Premier League for one season. He is still capable of being considered a homegrown player in English football. As a result, all contribute to a premium price, and selling clubs are free to base their own demands on any of the aforementioned Fernandez chain-reaction deals.
The transfer window is currently a selling club’s market when you factor in the wealth of the Saudi Pro League, whose four biggest clubs are supported by Newcastle United owners PIF. Naturally, Liverpool benefited from this by selling Fabinho to Al-Ittihad for £40 million, but they are now experiencing the full force of its ripple effect.
They moved for Alexis Mac Allister and Szoboszlai as a result of these excessive fees because they were able to take advantage of £35 million and £60 million release clauses, respectively. However, there isn’t a clause like that at the moment to take advantage of, despite Lavia’s rumored desire to relocate to Anfield.
Southampton isn’t backing down, even though the Reds may not think Lavia is worth £50 million. If the two clubs are able to resolve their transfer impasse in the coming weeks, only time will tell.
