Liverpool could sign a player with the potential to be worth as much as Declan Rice in the future for half his transfer fee this summer.
Declan Rice’s move to Arsenal has the potential to become one of the Premier League’s biggest deals of the summer.
The West Ham United captain arrives in north London with a wealth of experience and a distinguished career at club and international level. But while Rice will grab the headlines, Liverpool could be in line for a similar transfer.
Rice cost Arsenal $131m (£100m/€117m). It’s a high price to pay, but given his experience at West Ham and the England national team, it’s obviously worth paying for a player who could have a transformative impact on the team.
Players like Rice, who have proven themselves and charge such high transfer fees, are just outside Liverpool’s price range.
Pep Guardiola However, the club have invested wisely this summer and although the Reds are unable to sign players like Rice, Liverpool could be on the verge of signing an equally talented gem who could prove as good as a signing from Arsenal.
in the years to come.
Athletic have reported that Liverpool are close to making a second offer for Romeo Lavia and the deal looks increasingly likely as the Reds and Southampton are ready to agree a compromise over the alleged $64million (50 million pounds) of the Belgian teenager.€58 million).
Moreover, Fabrizio Romano has now claimed a deal valued at $58m (£45m/€53m) is “almost done”. Lavia isn’t as well-known in world football as Rice, but is seen as a favorite having had a solid breakthrough season in the Premier League.
Lavia grew up at Manchester City, where he made his senior debut under Pep Guardiola, and excelled in the Premier League for Southampton last season.
The youngster, who turned just 19 in January, was voted the club’s player of the season and became a mainstay but couldn’t prevent Southampton’s relegation to the Championship.
Even if you look at his current numbers, Lavia is not only one of his peers but also one of the best defensive midfielders in the league. However, to get a more accurate picture of his talent, it might be appropriate to compare it to Rice’s first season in the league, which was at the same age.
With both players born in January, Rice, like Lavia, started his first full season in the league aged 18 in the 2017/18 campaign and immediately caught the eye of West Ham.
Numerically, Lavia actually racked up more minutes in his first league season, a total of 2,221 minutes compared to Rice’s 1,430 minutes, as reported by FBref. On the ball, despite being relegated, Lavia showed better and more productive numbers than Rice.
He completed 34.8 passes per 90 minutes versus Rice’s 28.7, averaging more key passes (0.65 versus 0.13 per 90) and more shooting actions (1.66 versus 0 .63 for 90).
Lavia showed a lot more productivity on the ball in his first season compared to Rice, but the numbers aren’t too different on defense either. Rice averaged 3.96 tackles per 90 minutes, while Lavia averaged 3.77. Both won a similar percentage of their aerial duels, with Rice averaging 47.1 percent and Lavia averaging 41.2 percent.
