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Liverpool to make improved Romeo Lavia bid but I’d love to see Moises Caicedo play that role in Jurgen Klopp’s midfield
Where else to start this week’s column than with Romeo Lavia? That’s the player Liverpool want in midfield, that’s the player they’ve made a bid for. They made their move over the weekend, with a £37m bid to Southampton. That’s been rejected, but it seems like Lavia is the option Liverpool have settled on.
Southampton obviously want a bigger price, around £50m, and it feels like Liverpool’s offer isn’t a million miles away from that now, taking into account add-ons. It feels like there’s a good chance a compromise could be found, but we’ll have to see how much Liverpool are willing to go up, and how much Southampton might be willing to lower their demands. My current understanding is that Liverpool are likely to go back in with an improved bid, worth in excess of £40m including add-ons.
A few other names have been mentioned as well, even if the Lavia interest seems the most concrete at the moment, but it’s not surprising that the club may have alternatives in mind. Joao Palhinha and Cheick Doucoure have been linked, and of those two I think the latter is far likelier. Doucoure is four of five years younger, so given his age and the money sort of money that would be required for these players, I think he clearly looks a more realistic target. He’s had a decent first season in the Premier League, but I still suspect his asking price quoted from Palace sources of £65-70m would be a little high. But similar money for Palhinha from Fulham, who’s 28 years old, makes that one a lot less likely. And that’s before taking into account that Palhinha also got what looked like quite a bad shoulder injury in a friendly against Brentford over the weekend, so I think we can probably tick him off the list. Doucoure, though, could be one to keep an eye on, depending on what happens with Lavia, as well as with Fabinho and Jordan Henderson.
My ideal target, even if it’s not realistic, would probably be Moises Caicedo. I like Lavia, and think he could grow into a quality first-team player, but Caicedo is a more established player and would be my dream signing in that position. For me, he just ticks every box that you’d want from a Liverpool player to change this team going forward. He’s Premier League-proven, he’s energetic, he’s strong, he can pass, he can run, he’s shown he can fill in at right-back which could work well in a team with a roaming right-back like Trent Alexander-Arnold. Sadly, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be possible this summer.
Could Liverpool look at Aurelien Tchouameni again?
I think another dream midfield signing could’ve been Aurelien Tchouameni. It was twelve months ago that Liverpool worked really hard on trying to get Tchouameni from Monaco. He was identified as the priority to come in and play alongside Fabinho to begin with, and then eventually succeed him. I think Liverpool felt they had a good chance of persuading the player to join, but then Real Madrid came in and once they were there and ready to make the move, Liverpool lost out.
I think that was a real disappointment for Liverpool in terms of their planning. They put all their eggs into that basket really, and if you look at what happened last season, and how the last twelve months have played out, they didn’t sign anyone else in that ilk and they did end up being a bit short of quality in terms of reliable midfield players, and it came back to haunt them with a below-par campaign overall.
The question now, in terms of Liverpool ever being able to revive this deal, is would Real Madrid be willing to let him go? There’s been some speculation after he played perhaps a bit less than he would’ve liked in the second half of last season, but you can see with signings like Tchouameni, as well as Eduardo Camavinga and Jude Bellingham, that Real Madrid are really assembling a good young core of players.
Along with the likes of Vinicius and Rodrygo up front, you can see what Madrid clearly hope will be their next big team, and I think Tchouameni is going to be a big part of that. I would personally be very surprised to see them giving up already on a player they pushed so hard and paid so much money for.
I’m sure Liverpool would like to have that chance to revive their interest, but I can’t see Real giving them the chance to do so – unless they really decide to go strongly for Kylian Mbappe this summer and they need to free up some funds, but that doesn’t currently look like being the case.
Luis Diaz is surely not for sale – Liverpool can’t afford even more upheaval this summer
Luis Diaz is the latest big name to be linked as a target for the Saudi Pro League as Al Hilal have supposedly shown an interest. I have to say I’d be very surprised if Liverpool allowed him to leave as it’s quite different from the Fabinho and Henderson situation; Henderson’s had 12 years at the club, Fabinho’s had five, and they’re both at an age where you can understand moving them on.
Diaz, by contrast, is someone Jurgen Klopp is going to want to build around now that he’s back to fitness. He’s still only 26 and he’s been bought to enjoy his prime years at Liverpool. He’s a top player, and I don’t see Liverpool viewing him as a player to cash in on.
There’s already been a lot of upheaval at Liverpool this summer, so I think it would be a real blow to lose Diaz or any other of the forward players at the moment. Diaz is sure to be one of the star players up front, and he’s shown that by looking sharp in pre-season after his last campaign was ruined with that knee injury after making such a promising start. Liverpool view this as a big pre-season for him ahead of a big season coming up, and he’s looked lively and dangerous so far, scoring a really nice goal against Greuther Furth.
Had Liverpool been able to pick Diaz, and Diogo Jota, another player out for so long with injury, last season, I think they’d have had a much better chance of qualifying for the Champions League, so he’s got to have a key role to play next season. I’ve been shocked a few times this summer, but it would be a really risky step to sell Diaz now when they’ve already got so much to do in the transfer market.
Liverpool cult hero Divock Origi would be an interesting option for West Ham
Former Liverpool cult hero Divock Origi has been linked with a return to the Premier League with West Ham, and I’ve always felt he’s such an interesting player. There’s obviously a huge amount of ability and talent there. If you watch moments he’s had in his career, including memorable contributions in some big games for Liverpool, he has looked at times like an elite striker; he can finish with either foot, he can head the ball, he’s strong, he’s quick, has good movement – and yet you look at his career and it has always been moments rather than sustained periods of form.
There was a brief stint earlier in his career when it looked like he was starting to get some consistency, but he got injured and after that he was always a bench player, or a cup player, someone to make an impact in the final 20 minutes of games or as cover for someone else. Maybe that’s why it hasn’t worked out for him in Milan – when you get into that kind of rhythm of not needing to play every game, you don’t need that consistency, and it’s difficult to pick that up.
Still, I have to admit that I am a bit surprised that he hasn’t done well in Serie A – I thought that with the attributes he’s got, he is the kind of player that, with the right set-up around him, could thrive in Italy. He’s got good players around him in Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao, and I expected him to have a decent impact there.
It hasn’t happened for him at Milan, but he’s got experience and shown what he can do in the Premier League, so a move back to England with West Ham wouldn’t be the worst idea. They’ve had some problems up front with Gianluca Scamacca, and Michail Antonio could potentially go to Saudi as well.
There are question-marks over Origi and whether he can be a consistent starter and goal-scorer, but I think they could do a lot worse. He had some big moments for Liverpool and it remains to be seen if he can go on and become more than that, but I’d like to see him back in England.
Has Ben Doak played his way into first-team contention?
Liverpool go to Singapore on Thursday for the second leg of their pre-season tour. It was a good week in Germany with two goal fests. I’ll be interested to see now who gets their chance after Jurgen Klopp used 25 players in their last two games. Obviously you’d expect some of those players to now drop out, but I think some younger players have really stood out, and none more so than Ben Doak.
Doak, a young winger, featured in both games and made a real impression. He’s still only 17 years old but he gets people off their seat and already looks trusted by the senior players, who were willing to give him the ball and let him do his thing – they’re not treating him like someone who needs their hand holding or needs looking after. He’s established himself quickly and it was interesting to see players like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alexis Mac Allister getting on the ball and looking for Doak.
I think he’ll go to Singapore, and we might see Bobby Clark, a young midfielder, going as well. Young right-back Conor Bradley could be another to go, and generally I think those young players, and Doak in particular, have really enhanced their reputation in the last ten days over in Germany. It may be that loans now beckon for some of those players, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Doak has now played his way into contention to be on the bench this season, playing in the Europa League and some cup games.
All bets are off thanks to the Saudi Pro League
Has there ever been a summer where we’ve seen so many previously untouchable players become realistic movers? Lionel Messi’s moved to Inter Miami, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia earlier in the year has had such an impact as we’re now seeing Fabinho and Henderson heading there, Riyad Mahrez and perhaps even Kylian Mbappe. Elsewhere there’s also Harry Kane being pursued by Bayern Munich, Bernardo Silva by PSG – it just feels like there’s no such thing as an untouchable player anymore.
The Saudi project and their approach to the transfer market is going to continue having huge repercussions, and of course don’t forget the increased money in the Premier League these days as well. It’s made the transfer market fascinating, and when in the past you’d look at players like Messi, Mbappe and Kane and say they’re simply not for sale, all of a sudden anything is on the table. So many players are up for grabs now and it’s going to make the next few weeks really interesting to watch.