The Southampton youngster has been heavily linked with a move to Anfield.
Liverpool have been linked with a move for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia all summer and an encouraging update has emerged regarding their hopes of signing him.
The 19-year-old has been expected to leave Saints ever since they were relegated from the Premier League back in May, with a young talent of such huge potential unlikely to be playing Championship football.
It is Liverpool who have emerged as the favourites to sign Lavia for much of the summer transfer window, with constant reports claiming he is seen as the No.1 option to come in and replace Fabinho in the defensive midfield role.
Chelsea have now also entered the race to sign the Belgian, however, in a crazy period in recent days that have also seen the two clubs scrambling to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo ahead of their season opener at Stamford Bridge. It looks as though the Blues may win that battle, but a new update has emerged over Lavia’s future.
According to Football Insider, Liverpool have an agreement in place with Lavia over a move, but Chelsea have out-bid the Reds and are continuing to fight them for his services in more transfer drama.
“Liverpool have not given up hope of signing Romeo Lavia even though they have been out-bid by Chelsea in more transfer drama, sources have told Football Insider. The Merseysiders are working on bringing in another central midfielder and have a personal agreement in place with the Southampton star.
“Chelsea have offered around £55m for Lavia, who has been the subject of three failed bids from Liverpool worth up to £48m, despite also looking to complete a British-record deal for Moises Caicedo.”
If Caicedo doesn’t end up moving to Liverpool this summer, which looks like it could be the case, it is essential that Lavia is brought in instead, standing out as the next-best option. In an ideal world, both would come in, completing the Reds’ midfield rebuild in the process, but that is wishful thinking, given Chelsea’s interest and the money it would cost to sign the pair.
At 19, Lavia is still very much an improving player, so he shouldn’t be expected to be a star man from the off, but with the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Stefan Bajcetic and even Curtis Jones all capable of playing in the No.6 role, he could be given time to adjust to his new surroundings.
Over time, though, the Southampton starlet, lauded as “outstanding” by members of the media, may grow into a brilliant defensive midfielder, possessing all the attributes to excel there in the same manner that Fabinho did for four years, prior to his performances taking a dip last season.
Lavia covers ground, breaks up play and uses the ball intelligently and effectively, with an 86.4% pass completion rate for a struggling Saints side last season an impressive tally, considering he was playing a team often on the receiving end of poor results and not being able to dominate possession in games.
Missing out both him and Caicedo would be an extremely tough one to take for Liverpool and the hope is that a new arrival is confirmed as soon as possible.
