Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is looking to strengthen his midfield further this summer and Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia is on his radar
Liverpool are ‘frontrunners’ to sign Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia this summer despite interest from elsewhere in the Belgium international, according to journalist Dean Jones.
What’s the latest transfer news involving Romeo Lavia and Liverpool?
As per Telegraph Sport, Liverpool are willing to offload veteran midfielder Thiago Alcantara this summer and the Reds are considering making a ‘formal approach’ to try and sign Southampton youngster Lavia.
The report states that his valuation of £50 million is considered as ‘too prohibitive’ to make a move, though he is a ‘long-term target’ who fits the mould for Jurgen Klopp as he eyes midfield reinforcements.
Earlier this year, renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano detailed that Lavia’s former club Manchester City are believed to have a buyback clause that they can activate next year, stating on Twitter:
“Romeo Lavia will be one to watch in the summer. Man City £40m buy back clause, valid in 2024. Chelsea [wanted him last summer] and Arsenal [still keen on Caicedo too] among clubs interested – Southampton hope to keep him.”
FootballTransfers have claimed that alongside Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal are also keen to snap Lavia up in the off-season. Arsenal want Lavia, though will need to sanction an exit for Thomas Partey before being able to act on their interest.
Intriguingly, the outlet claim that Lavia would prefer a move to the Emirates Stadium to join the Gunners over Chelsea or Liverpool due to Arsenal’s upward trajectory under Mikel Arteta and involvement in the Champions League.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Jones has indicated that Liverpool lead the race to sign Lavia from Southampton this summer.
Jones said: “You’re left wondering what else they’ve got up their sleeve and basically within hours of signing Szoboszlai, they’ve been linked with Romeo Lavia, who, of course, has been in that conversation too as a player they would like this summer. But suddenly, they are pretty widely considered the frontrunners.”
Would Romeo Lavia be a suitable fit for Liverpool’s engine room?
Following on from the purchases of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, Lavia would be another exciting signing at Liverpool, offering plenty of room for development and an element of protection to Klopp’s backline.
In 2022/23, the Belgian gained plenty of experience on the South Coast and managed to make 34 appearances in all competitions, scoring once and laying on a solitary assist, as per Transfermarkt.
Lavia, who was hailed as Southampton’s “shining star”, is a comfortable presence in possession despite only being 19 and showed maturity in his debut Premier League campaign, retaining a pass success rate of 86.7%, as per WhoScored.
FBRef illustrate that Lavia got through plenty of work in the middle of the park last term, making 93 tackles and interceptions combined over the course.
Liverpool will need to start phasing out their more experienced midfielders, with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara all at risk of losing their places.
Bringing in someone like Lavia could offer them the perfect balance in that respect, as Klopp would be able to slowly integrate Lavia into first-team action to give him the requisite skills to step into a starting berth in the coming years.
Journalist at Football FanCast, covering Premier League football, transfer rumours and more.
Have worked for multiple digital outlets, such as GIVEMESPORT, The Sporting News, The Transfer Tavern and 67 Hail Hail focusing on all things football.
Massive Celtic fan and a firm believer that Kyogo Furuhashi is the best since Henrik Larsson, also a big supporter of the Scotland National Team.
The Premier League side have stepped up their interest over the last couple of hours according to a report.
West Ham United are determined to land Denis Zakaria this summer and have pushed to get a deal done, according to a report from Calciomercato l’Originale, via Juventus News 24.
How many games did Denis Zakaria play in last season?
The midfielder spent the 2022/23 season on loan with Chelsea in the Premier League, but was given only seven games to prove his worth in the top flight under Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard. Even worse for the 26-year-old is that only five of those came as starts – meaning that he had just 411 minutes of playing time with the Blues during his stint there.
He therefore wasn’t able to regularly showcase what he is capable of, having also struggled to get gametime with parent club Juventus. Since joining the Serie A giants, he has played just eleven league games for them too, at a total of just 720 minutes.
Zakaria though really shone during his time in Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach, He twice featured in the top ten pass completion leaderboard for the club and ranked eighth in the entire Bundesliga for the amount of blocks he produced back in the 2017/18 season.
He can produce the goods in the centre of the field then – he just hasn’t been able to show it recently.
Now though, he may have the opportunity to land another move and get that chance. According to a report from Calciomercato l’Originale, via Juventus News 24, Gianluca Di Marzio believes West Ham are still very eager to sign Zakaria and have actually pushed for a transfer “in the last few hours.”
There is no mention of an official bid or formal approach, but it seems as though the Hammers are now really desperate to try and land the midfielder this summer – and want to try and get a deal done sooner rather than later.
A transfer could be possible too, with the report adding that he isn’t an essential part of Massimiliano Allegri’s plans at Juventus. That suggests he could be sold at the right price – and if West Ham stump up the funds then, a deal could get over the line.
What is Denis Zakaria worth?
It’s unclear how much a potential transfer for Zakaria may cost, but Transfermarkt suggest that his value could be around the 18 million Euros (or £15.4m) mark.
It’s not a large fee for the Hammers to pay should he actually cost that much, and it could be worth a gamble considering his experience and potential ability on the field should he be able to feature frequently.
He’s clearly got some talent in his locker despite his lack of gametime too – journalist Josh Bunting stated that the midfielder was “powerful” at Chelsea in terms of “winning the ball back” and it showcases how much of a presence he can be in the centre of the field.
On his day then, the current Juventus man could be a real asset for a club – and if West Ham snap him up and play him regularly, they could therefore reap the rewards.
Initially beginning with a stint writing for SillySeason during his time at college, Charlie went on to create content for websites such as Last Word on Football and Football League World before joining up with Football FanCast.
He also regularly contributes with a WSL column for the Wigan Today newspaper and has had work featured in FourFourTwo magazine and several matchday programmes.
On the side, Charlie is an avid Preston North End fan and works as an editor for Vital PNE. Aside from football, he is a huge fan of the film industry and has subsequently branched out to write about it for Comic Book Resources.
