Liverpool are fighting a number of Premier League rivals for the signing of Southampton youngster Romeo Lavia and have asked about details over a potential transfer, journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed.
How good is Romeo Lavia?
The 19-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past 12 months or so, having moved to the Saints from Manchester City, in order to enjoy regular football.
While the south coast side ultimately finished bottom of the table and suffered relegation from the Championship, Lavia was arguably their standout player, so often catching the eye with his displays in the middle of the park.
The £25,000-a-week Belgian scored a superb long-range strike at home to Chelsea early in the season, immediately making people sit up and take notice, and he ended up starting 26 league matches in total.
Lavia will surely move on this summer, rather than staying put in the second tier, and his quality is highlighted by the level of interest in his signature. Liverpool have been linked with a move for him numerous times and a fresh update suggests that he is still very much on their radar as new sporting director Jorg Schmadtke looks to make an impact in his first summer at Anfield.
What's the latest on Lavia to Liverpool?
Taking to Twitter on Monday morning, Romano claimed that Liverpool are still in the mix to snap up Lavia this summer and have approached Southampton over the conditions of a deal, but it is clear that there is strong competition for his signature:
"Understand Liverpool asked conditions of Romeo Lavia deal, they’re in the race. Arsenal, working on this deal for 15 days — no official bid from both clubs yet. Man Utd and Chelsea, monitoring the situation but not in active talks yet."
The importance of Liverpool strengthening their midfield greatly this summer cannot be stressed enough, with the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner all leaving the club. Alexis Mac Allister has already arrived from Brighton, so Lavia could be the next eye-catching addition.
The Belgium international has a huge amount of potential, already becoming such an important player for a Premier League team in his teens, sso he could be seen as Fabinho's natural long-term replacement at Anfield, mastering the No.6 role in front of the defence.
A defensive force, Lavia averaged 2.1 tackles per game last season, but he is also impressive in possession, with Manchester United legend Paul Scholes saying he has "a pass in his locker", with the media labelling him as a "shining star" in Southampton's relegated team last season. Meanwhile, journalist Jacob Tanswell has lauded his "press-resistant" ability on the ball – something that would surely appeal to Jurgen Klopp.
If Liverpool could bring in Nice star Khephren Thuram as well as Lavia, with Mac Allister already signed, it would represent an excellent summer of midfield reinforcements.
