According to Fabrizio Romano, Southampton have made it clear to Liverpool that they want £50m if they’re to sell Romeo Lavia to the Reds.
The Anfield club have today seen a £37m offer rejected by the Saints (The Athletic), with the Championship outfit sticking resolutely to their original asking price, but the Merseysiders are set to come back for another attempt at landing the midfielder.
Taking to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon to follow up on an earlier update, the Italian transfer reporter stated: “Southampton have been clear during direct contacts with Liverpool today for Roméo Lavia: they want £50m package to make it happen. Liverpool will keep working on it.”
After weeks of speculation, Liverpool finally made their move today with that formal offer, even if it has been returned to them with a message of ‘thanks but no thanks’.
Southampton won’t easily budge from their £50m valuation, if they do so at all, so it’s going to take another few million quid for the Reds to get their man.
Romano’s phrasing of ‘£50m package’ is an intriguing choice of words, though. Does that hint at the possibility of a deal adding up to that amount being done if LFC propose paying £40m+ initially and then getting to the Saints’ magic number once add-ons are activated?
Is there a chance that Liverpool could try to sweeten the deal by offering around £40m and adding a player into the mix who Russell Martin may feel would enhance his squad?
Whatever proposal the Reds present to Southampton next, they now know it’ll need to be a notable improvement on today’s offer.
However, one thing which could work in our favour is that personal terms won’t be an issue (The Athletic), so it’ll simply come down to the two clubs agreeing upon a fee or package which’ll satisfy them both.
It’s going to be very interesting to see the composition of Liverpool’s next offer for Lavia, whenever it’s made.
You can see Romano’s tweet below, via @FabrizioRomano on Twitter:
Southampton have been clear during direct contacts with Liverpool today for Roméo Lavia: they want £50m package to make it happen. 🚨🔴 #LFC
Liverpool will keep working on it. https://t.co/7DhmwAYRJY
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 25, 2023
#Ep83 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones