Romeo Lavia has opted to join Chelsea over Liverpool this summer despite the Reds’ late return to the deal.
David Ornstein shared the crushing update on X on Monday evening, with the Blues now expected to get a transfer over the line for an initial £50m.
🚨 Romeo Lavia has chosen to join Chelsea from Southampton. Liverpool were pursuing but are aware of decision. #CFC & #SaintsFC have good relations, so no issues expected on deal or personal terms. Fee likely to be around £50m + add-ons @TheAthleticFC #LFC https://t.co/EjmFknCViS
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) August 14, 2023
It’s the second transfer failure in as many days for Jurgen Klopp’s men, with the club now forced to consider alternative avenues following failed pursuits for both the Belgian and Moises Caicedo.
READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano confirms transfer heartbreak for Liverpool as Reds step up response
The question for Liverpool: where to now?
Fellow Premier League operators in the form of Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure and Fulham’s Joao Palhinha had been touted as possible avenues, though the former’s lofty price-tag and the latter’s shoulder injury will prove obstructive.
With limited time left in the window, however, we simply can’t afford to waste time – and potentially valuable points this term in our pursuit of top four football – on ‘maybes’.
£111m in the bank for the Reds will rightly mean fans expect the club to have something to show for its efforts come the close of the window.
Can somebody tell me how LFC managed to be shunned by two players while LFC closed the deal with respective clubs? Am I the only LFC fan feeling the sour taste of humiliation?
My guess is that Schmatke fucked around on Lavia deal trying to get a good price and then when Chelsea came in and we went after Caicedo, Lavia probably had second thoughts. Also the development chap at Chelsea is the same guy who brought him to Saints. They’ve got a good relationship. Tbf, we don’t want players who don’t want to play for us. I don’t blame Caicedo, they’ve been courting him for months but Lavia has made a daft decision here I think. They’ve got so many midfielders, he’s only 19, I don’t see him developing well at Chelsea whereas he’d get loads more minutes with us. Look at their track record and ours with bringing players through.
Werner rejected us for Chelsea, Pulisic too, look how that turned out.
Yeh they won the champions league
They, who? The guys running the business nowadays were not at LFC at that glorious time.
, “we don’t want players who don’t want to play for us.” True! But shouldn’t we find out if the player want to play for us before cutting the deal with the club and publicly announce that? Some due diligence? My impression is that those in charge with transfers at LFC are incompetent. If you do this kind of mistake in any kind of business, you’re out!
Anyways, asking van Dijk to tame down the fans’ worries by saying that we have to trust the club ’cause they’re dealing professionally with transfers was kind of bizarre. Looks like PR crisis type of deed.
Looks more like LFC got played by Caicedo’s advisers. They used LFC to bump up the price thereby getting themselves a bigger cut.
Liverpool should have closed the Lavia deal a long time ago but I don’t understand why they are rejecting Liverpool for Chelsea especially Lavia who they have been chasing all summer..this is embarrassing for Liverpool
LFC have been made to look a laughing stock. Sack ALL the incompetent lot involved in this fiasco.
You right now many people thnk that LFC Won’t make it transfer luck isn’t on our side but actually be amazed seeing us on top three