After the Caicedo blow, Liverpool wants a Southampton midfielder.
It is their responsibility to persuade Lavia to pick Anfield over Chelsea.
For Southampton midfielder Roméo Lavia, Liverpool and Southampton have reached a £60 million agreement. Lavia, 19, must be persuaded to move to Anfield despite Chelsea’s attempts to sign him.
With Chelsea winning the race to sign Moisés Caicedo from Brighton, Jürgen Klopp is in a desperate need to bolster his midfield. Caicedo, who must get a medical, is moving for a record-breaking £115 million in British money.
Chelsea submitted a £55 million bid for Lavia last Friday in their ongoing pursuit of the Belgian player.
The player wants to leave Southampton after they were demoted from the Premier League, but Liverpool urgently needs middle-field reinforcements, so they have refused to give up on him. On Sunday evening, Liverpool increased their offer for Lavia after initially refusing to go over £45 million.
However, Klopp will be concerned that there are signs that Lavia would prefer to move to Chelsea.
After Thibaut Courtois tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, Kepa Arrizabalaga, a goalkeeper for Chelsea, finished his move to Real Madrid on a season-long loan.
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Romano discloses Liverpool phone call regarding £50 million deal on Friday after Reds fail “secret job”
According to Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool called Southampton on Friday about a possible transfer of Romeo Lavia after Chelsea made a new offer.
Jurgen Klopp confirmed in his press conference on Friday that Liverpool had made a move for Moises Caicedo with reports that a bid of around £110m had been accepted.
However, it was later revealed that the Ecuadorian international had told the Reds that he “just wants to go to Chelsea this summer”, with the Blues themselves making a new offer.
Liverpool have also been battling with Chelsea over Southampton midfielder Lavia – valued at £50m – as they seek at least one replacement for Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, who both moved to Saudi Arabia earlier this summer.
Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai came on earlier this summer to cover defeats to Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner, with the trio leaving on a free transfer. Liverpool have made several offers for Belgium international Lavia at Southampton but have so far been unsuccessful and risk losing to Chelsea for him too.
And transfer guru Romano has revealed Liverpool are still interested in signing Lavia. A call was made to the Saints last night, although Southampton’s asking price has yet to be met.
Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Friday’s story du jour was Harry Kane v Bayern but the Moises Caicedo saga was straightforward, if not crazier.” As of this writing, Chelsea are currently in contact with Brighton to reapply for Caicedo.
“So let’s wait and see that move because it’s crucial. Caicedo wants to go to Chelsea, he said directly to Liverpool at lunchtime on Friday very clearly, when it seemed that everything was ready to enter Jurgen Klopp’s squad.
“That’s why Chelsea are now working on a club-to-club deal after weeks of negotiations. I think Chelsea were confident they would be the only ones working on this deal, but Liverpool’s ‘secret work’ has been excellent. In the end it is always the player’s preference that makes the difference.
Chelsea also sent Southampton a fresh offer for Romeo Lavia on Friday night, but once again we wait for Caicedo before we see the end of Lavia’s story, as Liverpool also called Southampton up for the 19-year-old on Friday afternoon. “Chelsea see Lavia as a separate deal from Caicedo, but Liverpool have been there all day as well. Southampton won’t sell Lavia for less than £50m, they knew that.
