Liverpool are not currently likely to enter the running for the transfer of Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia, according to Neil Jones in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.
The Belgium international looked a real wonderkid with his performances for the Saints last season, even if he couldn’t quite do enough on his own to help the team stay up.
With Southampton now preparing for life in the Championship, it makes sense that Lavia is now likely to move back to the top flight pretty soon, with Jones admitting that Arsenal and other clubs all seem to be in there for the 19-year-old.
However, with Liverpool it looks like this particular signing would represent too much of a gamble right now, given that they need an overhaul in midfield, and probably with more proven players.
While Jones admits that Lavia fits the kind of profile of player LFC usually like, he believes the issues faced by the club in the last year or so mean now is probably not an ideal time to make such an investment.
“Romeo Lavia’s also an interesting one, as he’s probably the sort of player Liverpool would’ve signed if things had gone a little more to plan in the last twelve months,” Jones explained.
“If Liverpool were in a better position and trying to make small improvements from a position of strength, then I could see Lavia being high up on their agenda, based on his age, his potential and his style of play. I just suspect now, with the way things have gone wrong for Liverpool in the last year or so, that they feel they need someone who’s a bit more of a guarantee, someone with a bit more of a proven record of what they can do at the top level.
“Lavia is a top talent but I get the impression he’d possibly be seen as too much of a gamble at the moment. He’s a player they admire and they’re by no means alone in that – Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, they’re all in there, but from a Liverpool perspective, whenever I’ve spoken to people around the club about Lavia, the impression I’m getting is that it’s maybe a bit too soon for Liverpool to put all their eggs in that basket.
“Still, it looks like it could be a busy summer with midfielders, and we’re yet to see exactly what happens with Arsenal and Declan Rice, what Chelsea decide to do with someone like Moises Caicedo, and I’d be amazed if Manchester United weren’t interested at some point with what they need in midfield, so there’s a risk in leaving it too long and I wouldn’t be that surprised if, depending on how the cards fall, that this ends up being one Liverpool could circle back to.
“For now, though, I’d keep more of an eye on (Khephren) Thuram than Lavia. If you look at the history of Liverpool’s signings in recent years there’s definitely a pattern in terms of the age – somewhere between 23 and 25, and the price, so I think that’s where Lavia, who only turned 19 in January and who might cost upwards of £50m, doesn’t quite fit the profile.”
Fellow CaughtOffside columnist Fabrizio Romano has linked Lavia most strongly with Arsenal.