Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg has stated that ‘concrete talks’ are ongoing with Liverpool over a possible move for Romeo Lavia, of whom Jurgen Klopp is ‘a big fan’.
The Southampton midfielder has been strongly linked with a move to the Reds, who are reportedly confident of agreeing a deal to sign him despite their £40m valuation falling £10m short of the Saints’ asking price (Football Insider).
Taking to Twitter, the reporter outlined that Barcelona had also been interested in the player but can’t afford what the south coast club are demanding for the Belgium international.
Plettenberg tweeted: “Roméo Lavia, there are still concrete talks with Chelsea, Arsenal, especially with Liverpool as Klopp is a big fan!
“Been told that his price tag is around £50m this summer! Confirmed: Barcelona was targeting the 19 y/o but his price is not affordable for Barca this summer.”
On several levels, this can be interpreted by Liverpool fans as a positive update on Lavia’s situation.
The statement of ‘concrete talks’ taking place indicates that the Reds have made progress on proceedings beyond initial contact, while the ‘especially’ phrasing may suggest the Merseysiders have a slight edge on the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal.
Klopp being ‘a big fan’ of the player should see the manager trying to persuade the LFC recruitment team to drive a move through, while Barcelona’s inability to afford Southampton’s asking price eliminates one potential competitor.
The gap between that £50m figure and Liverpool’s willingness to offer 20% less still needs to be bridged, but it’s not unthinkable that the relevant parties could work through that to reach a point where everyone is satisfied with a possible arrangement.
Lavia’s name has been at the forefront of Reds-related transfer speculation for a few days now, so ideally we’ll see discernible progress on that front over the coming week as the midfield summer rebuild at Anfield continues apace.
You can see Plettenberg’s tweet below, via @Plettigoal on Twitter:
Roméo #Lavia, there are still concrete talks with Chelsea, Arsenal, especially with Liverpool as Klopp is a big fan! #LFC
➡️ Been told that his price tag is around £50m this summer!
Confirmed: Barcelona was targeting the 19 y/o but his price is not affordable for Barca this… pic.twitter.com/IpiUvVyAEo
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 7, 2023
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