Liverpool haven’t given up hope of landing Romeo Lavia this summer it seems, despite reports suggesting that an exit is required before the Reds can move for a third midfield signing.
This comes courtesy of a tweet from Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, reporting that the Merseysiders talks with the Belgian ‘are concrete and ongoing’, though an agreement is yet to be found.
Talks between Liverpool & #Lavia are concrete and ongoing.
🔴 Understand there is no agreement in terms of salary conditions yet. #LFC
➡️ As reported: His price tag is around £50m
➡️ Klopp wants him!ℹ️: Very press resistant player – even in high pressure situations, he… pic.twitter.com/sFCxiFP7UR
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 9, 2023
At £50m, the signing could prove to be a hurdle too far for the club, of course, especially without the guarantee of a near instant fit with the player only 19 years of age.
With a full season in the Premier League under his belt, however, it’s worth pointing out that Lavia is no ordinary youngster.
Given the well-documented arrangement Southampton currently have with Manchester City (buyback clause worth £40m that the Sky Blues can trigger next summer), we can hardly afford to wait another year.
Putting aside the clear need to finish the work started by adding Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister to the squad, it’s clear that there will be more pressing needs for the recruitment team to fulfil next summer elsewhere in the squad.
Though we can understand the club’s point of view when it comes to forking out a big fee for the teenager, it seems utterly foolish to baulk at the fee for the sake of saving potentially £10m next summer – provided a move to the Etihad doesn’t look more appealing for the player by that point.
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