Southampton have put a £50m price-tag on reported Liverpool target Romeo Lavia, but are unlikely to see it met.
That’s according to Football Transfers, who claim that Liverpool continue to admire the 19-year-old. They’ve named him alongside Khephren Thuram and Manu Kone as transfer options for the Reds midfield rebuild.
For the moment, deals seem more likely for both Thuram and Kone, with talks reportedly commencing with the French pair. But Lavia is also said to be on the list.
In order to get him then, Southampton are supposedly expecting clubs to stump up £50m.
However, Football Transfers claim that it’s ‘unlikely’ that Saints will be able to recoup that amount for Lavia. With Liverpool hunting bargains, this is certainly one to keep an eye on.
Liverpool keeping an eye on Lavia
All Liverpool eyes were on Lavia as they took on Southampton on the final day of the Premier League season two weeks ago.
The 19-year-old made a poor initial impression, humiliatingly putting the ball on a plate for Diogo Jota to score. But after that, Lavia recovered impressviely.
Overall, he did a decent job as the two clubs traded blows, eventually settling for a 4-4 draw.
Still so young, there’s obviously going to be some kinks that need ironing out of the Belgian’s game. It’s unlikely that Jurgen Klopp will disregard a player based on a single mistake against his side.
But it is also true that Jurgen values players based on what he sees from them live. The decision to sign Alexis Mac Allister, for example, was reportedly solidified 48 hours after watching him take the Reds apart in January.
Based on what they saw from Lavia then, there’s probably not much chance of Liverpool parting with £50m for him.
For our money, it looks like the Reds are prioritising deals for Kone and Thuram anyway. But if they fail to make progress with either, expect them to look to hammer out something a fair bit below Southampton’s lofty asking-price.
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