According to The Independent’s chief football writer Miguel Delaney, Liverpool have joined a number of Premier League clubs in the battle to sign Southampton talent Romeo Lavia.
Liverpool are looking to add one or two more midfielders to their squad this summer after securing a £35m deal to sign Alexis Mac Allister earlier this month.
The 2022 World Cup winner joins the Merseyside outfit after an impressive season on both the international stage and in the Premier League with Brighton and Hove Albion last season.
Although Mac Allister’s influence in the centre of the pitch will be highly valuable to Jurgen Klopp next season, there is still plenty of work to be done in the coming weeks to complete the much-needed midfield rebuild.
The Reds return for pre-season on July 8th and it is reported that the Liverpool boss would like business to be wrapped up by the time his squad report back for training next month, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see another new addition snapped up imminently.
In an article written for The Independent on Tuesday afternoon, Delaney revealed that Liverpool are competing with a number of top-flight rivals for Lavia’s signature this summer.
Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea join the Merseysiders in the race for the £45m defensive midfielder who has had a phenomenal breakout season with the Saints, despite being relegated.
Our thoughts on Liverpool’s interest in Romeo Lavia…
It is no secret that Liverpool have had huge success in the business they have done with Southampton over the years.
Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren were all signed from the south coast club to play a major part in the success delivered during Klopp’s reign at Anfield.
As a result, the signing of Lavia could be Klopp’s next major coup as the young talent would be the perfect understudy for Fabinho next season.
Over 29 Premier League appearances, the 19-year-old sensation tallied up an 86% pass completion rate, successfully completed 68% of his dribbles and scored one goal.
As well as averaging 1.1 interceptions, 2.1 tackles and 4.9 duels won per game, proving that he is a consistent defensive presence.
In fact, no other Southampton player completed more dribbles per game (1.1) and Lavia ranked second in the entire squad for tackles won per game too – according to WhoScored – which is a testament to his impact in midfield despite their plight.
With that being said, the teenage talent is definitely one to watch this summer for the Reds as he could be the ideal prodigy to succeed Fabinho in the future of the Liverpool midfield.
