Liverpool could be ready to submit an offer to Southampton for Romeo Lavia and want to get it done quickly, according to reports from Spain.
Fichajes have claimed that ‘direct contact’ has been made between the Reds and the Belgian’s camp, with the Anfield club willing to make a bid of up to €30m (£26m) for the 19-year-old.
However, with Manchester City also believed to be interested in the midfielder, who they sold to the Saints just last year, the Merseysiders are in a ‘hurry’ to get the deal completed as soon as possible.
READ MORE: (Video) Curtis Jones pulls off a cheeky wheelie during Liverpool’s pre-season tour
A £26m offer for Lavia would appear reasonable, considering that he’s only had one season of top-flight football to his name, even if it was a very good one which saw him labelled ‘incredible’ by Pep Guardiola (mancity.com).
However, such a bid would surely be flatly rejected by Southampton, who are reportedly demanding almost twice as much to sell the teenager.
If Liverpool are fully intent on signing the Belgium international, they’ll likely need to try and meet somewhere in the middle at least, so it might take £40m or more to persuade the Saints to do business.
A fee in that region would effectively be funded by the imminent sale of Fabinho, who’s reportedly set to join Al-Ittihad for a similar amount, giving the Reds a like-for-like defensive midfield replacement for minimal (if any) net cost.
There could be quite a bit of back-and-forth between the Reds and Southampton over the next few weeks of the transfer window, and with the start of the Premier League season now less than 21 days away, we can expect the Merseysiders to soon ramp up their efforts regarding the 19-year-old.
#Ep82 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: Who do Liverpool replace Henderson & Fabinho with?