Anyone who wants to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton this summer may need to pay a premium for him, but according to some reports, Liverpool might have an ace up their sleeve to use as leverage in obtaining him at a lower cost.
Football Transfers have reported that the Reds are hoping to add a defensive midfielder to their squad, with the 19-year-old seemingly a player of interest.
The Saints are set to demand £50m for the teenager, although it’s been suggested that the Merseyside club could offer Tyler Morton in exchange as part of a deal to bring down that price for the Belgian.
READ MORE: Neil Jones shares Alexis Mac Allister update which’ll be music to Liverpool fans’ ears
Following Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League, there seems a strong chance that Lavia could be on the move during the summer in order to remain in the top flight.
The teenager has stood out as one of the better performers for the south coast strugglers, posting the squad’s best passing average (86.4%) out of anyone to start more than one top-flight game this season, while only one player at St Mary’s can better his rate of two tackles per match (WhoScored).
Transpose those averages to Liverpool’s squad, and he’d rank ninth for passing accuracy and third for tackles per 90, so he could certainly add steel to the Reds’ midfield (WhoScored).
Morton has only played twice in the Premier League so therefore lacks top-flight experience in comparison to Lavia, although the Reds youngster has enjoyed regular game-time on loan at Blackburn this term, making 46 appearances for Rovers (Transfermarkt).
He averaged a lower passing accuracy (82.4%) and fewer tackles per game (1.5) in the Championship than the Southampton gem in the top division, as per WhoScored, so some might perceive the Belgian to be an upgrade on him.
The 20-year-old is certainly a talent, having previously been hailed by Jurgen Klopp for his ‘outstanding’ football brain (Sky Sports, via Eurosport).
However, the emergence of Stefan Bajcetic, resurgence of Curtis Jones and redeployment of Trent Alexander-Arnold have all arguably served to present new barriers to his hopes of breaking into the Liverpool first team on a regular basis.
Morton shouldn’t be sacrificed frivolously, as he’s a precocious talent, although the Anfield hierarchy could certainly give strong consideration to offering him a more likely passageway to frequent game-time with a move to Southampton if they’re serious about pursuing Lavia.