One journalist believes that Liverpool have a ‘very realistic’ chance of securing a move for Romeo Lavia ‘on their terms’.
As per Fabrizio Romano (via CaughtOffside), the Reds are chasing the Southampton midfielder as a ‘priority’ target and are continuing to negotiate with the Saints to try and get the deal done.
Chelsea are also believed to be interested in the 19-year-old, potentially sparking a bidding war which could help the south coast club to yield close to the £50m they’re demanding for him.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jacobs explained why Russell Martin’s side are hoping to reap such a substantial sum for Lavia, but has said that Liverpool could try to get him for slightly less than that figure.
The journalist stated: “Southampton are holding out for £50m, because a year ago, that’s what Chelsea tried to offer in the final days of the window.
“Even though we haven’t seen a formal Chelsea offer yet, they’re talking up the finances and disrupting the market. They’re inflating the market and Liverpool know this, which is why they want to move quickly.
“Liverpool are reliant on the fact that they’re got player buy-in and now it’s about what deal they can get done for under £50m and how much under £50m, because when Liverpool don’t see value, they tend to walk away.
“But in this case, they believe they can get a deal done on their terms and things are progressing. So this one stands a very realistic possibility now of getting done.”
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There hasn’t been any discernible progress on Liverpool’s pursuit over the weekend, although their attention would’ve been focused on Sunday’s friendly against Leicester and finalising the imminent exit of Fabinho to Al-Ittihad.
It’s interesting to hear Jacobs explaining Chelsea’s disruptive influence in driving up the potential price for Lavia, and we know from the past two transfer windows that Todd Boehly is anything but slow to splash the cash to get the players that he wants at Stamford Bridge.
However, the Reds still to be in the box seat for the 19-year-old due to the ‘buy-in’ they have from him, and as the journalist stated, FSG don’t tend to sanction deals which’d involve paying over the odds for a Jurgen Klopp transfer target.
It’s even more encouraging that Liverpool could realistically sign the Southampton midfielder ‘on their terms’ rather than being gouged by the Championship club.
We should ideally see things moving significantly on the Lavia front this week, with less than a fortnight now remaining until the Merseysiders begin their Premier League campaign.
#Ep83 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones