Liverpool are the best-placed club to complete the signing of Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia, according to Dean Jones.
The 19-year-old enjoyed a stellar campaign for the Saints last season and is wanted by a number of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.
How much will Romeo Lavia cost?
Southampton stand to make a very big profit on the Belgian midfielder they signed one year ago.
Brought in from champions Manchester City for a fee that could potentially rise to £14m, Lavia was joined at the club last summer by Samuel Edozie and Gavin Bazunu, who also made the switch from Manchester.
The midfielder made 31 appearances for the south coast side last season and scored one goal. He received lots of credit and praise from pundits and managers alike last season, with Premier League legends Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand quick to lavish praise on the 19-year-old before the Saints clash against Manchester United earlier in the season.
Scholes said: “He has chosen to move on and I think he is a player with so much potential and he could potentially go back, but he has settled in so well. He has got a pass in his locker and he is big and strong and likes to defend. He does not want to get forward too much and sits in-front of the back four and sets the play in motion from there.”
Ferdinand also shared that sentiment, stating: “The way he has started and immediately performed here kind of justifies the conviction that Southampton have had in going and getting him. He is a young player who can do both sides of the game, equally good defensively but also once he is one the ball he has tremendous feet and can pass it.”
Reports this summer have suggested that following the side’s relegation, Lavia is looking to leave the now Championship club, with clubs such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea all having interest. However, no club has agreed to pay the £50m asking price that Southampton are demanding for their young star.
Transfer insider Jones says that he believes that the Merseyside outfit are best placed to sign the midfielder, with the potential departure of Thiago Alcantara a factor.
What has Dean Jones said about the potential move?
Speaking to FootballFanCast, journalist Jones said: “Yeah, I think at this stage, it’s fair to say that Liverpool would be best placed to sign Lavia. I think it’s interesting how this story is now being paired with the fact that Thiago could leave Liverpool.
You know, some suggestions are that Liverpool needs some money. And in order to go do that Lavia deal but I’m not sure that that is strictly true.”
Where would Lavia play for Liverpool?
Lavia, who has been hailed as a “baller” who is “big and strong” would seemingly be the final piece in the Liverpool midfield rebuild this summer.
The Reds have brought in two midfielders already, with Alexis Mac Allister arriving from Brighton and Hove Albion for a fee in the region of £35m and Dominik Szoboszlai from German outfit RB Leipzig for a fee in the region of £60m.
Should Liverpool employ a similar system to the one manager Jurgen Klopp utlised in the final games of last season, only a left-sided defensive midfielder to partner Trent Alexander-Arnold would be needed, and that is where Lavia would come in.
The 19-year-old would most likely be tasked with being the defensive anchor for Liverpool to allow their more attack-minded and creative players the license to get forward and showcase their talents, and that aspect of his game is something he excels at.
Twitter user @SawkurGod posted a graph showcasing the U24 best duel winners in the Premier League last season, and Lavia sat among some esteemed company at the very top alongside Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo, both players who could command fees in excess of £100m this summer according to reports.
With reports recently that club captain Jordan Henderson might also be departing this summer, with clubs in Saudi Arabia interested, a move for Lavia seems like an incredibly smart and shrewd piece of business for the Reds as they look to bounce back from a disappointing campaign last season