Romeo Lavia, a target for Arsenal and a standout for Southampton, is supposedly close to joining Liverpool, according to Football Insider.
The Reds have made the decision to enhance the team in this transfer window in order to challenge on all fronts once more starting next season after a dismal campaign last year.
After allowing James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keita to leave the team, Jurgen Klopp has prioritized overhauling the midfield position.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister have already signed with the Merseyside club. However, the German manager’s team has been forced to look into the market to buy another midfielder to replace them as Jordan Henderson and Fabinho are set to depart for Saudi Arabia.
Over the past several weeks, a number of players, including Manu Kone, Khephren Thuram, and Federico Valverde, have been connected with a move to Anfield, but Lavia has consistently been named as the main target.
Battle
After purchasing Declan Rice, it has been said that Arsenal is looking to add a second midfielder this summer and have identified the Belgian as their first choice. Even the idea has been floated that the Gunners have already had preliminary discussions with Southampton to find out the specifics of signing him.
However, according to the claim by Football Insider, Liverpool has moved ahead of Arsenal in the race to sign Lavia and is “close” to doing so this summer.
The Merseyside club has allegedly been in communication with the Saints about signing the 19-year-old and they are “hopeful” a deal can be reached before the end of this month, according to the source.
According to Football Insider, Liverpool is attempting to close a deal with Southampton for a fee of about £40 million rather than Southampton’s asking price of about £50 million to sell Lavia.
The player is ‘convinced’ by Liverpool’s concept and is prepared to go, according to the source, which also claims that Klopp is ‘eager’ on signing the Southampton star.
The Belgian, who transferred from Manchester City to the Saint Mary’s Stadium last summer, had a promising Premier League debut season despite Southampton’s restrictions last season.
It therefore comes as no surprise that major English teams like Arsenal and Liverpool are interested in hiring the young player ahead of the upcoming season.
Lavia is a very skilled player, and securing his services during this transfer window would be a major coup for either Arsenal or Liverpool.
