As per David Ornstein of The Athletic, Southampton have rejected a bid of £37m from Liverpool for Roméo Lavia.
This move marks The Reds’ first official attempt to secure Lavia, however it is understood that South Coast side have turned it down as they hold out for a fee of £50m for his services.
Despite this, personal terms between the player and the club are not expected to be an issue, with The Reds having been interested in the midfielder all summer.
Having signed for The Saints from Manchester City for around €15m just last year, the Anfield club’s interest in the 19-year-old comes after he made 26 starts in his debut Premier League season last year.
Despite his side suffering relegation, the former Anderlecht youth player often impressed from the base of midfield, showing his ability to read the game, cover ground and regain possession, as well as his composure and accuracy on-the-ball- where he was able to consistently evade pressure and progress the ball through line-breaking carries and passes.
Liverpool’s bid for the Belgian international comes as they look to revamp their midfield heading into next season. Club captain Jordan Henderson has agreed to sign a £700,000 per week contract with Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq, whilst Brazilian Fabinho has been subject of a £40m bid from Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté’s new club Al Ittihad.
Meanwhile, names such as Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips, Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat, Aston Villa’s Boubacar Kamara and Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch are also of interest to Jürgen Klopp’s side, alongside Cheick Doucouré of Crystal Palace- as has been previously reported.
These potential moves mark another chapter of what has been already been a significant midfield rebuild in the German manager’s squad this summer, with James Milner, Naby Keïta, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all having departed on free transfers, whilst exciting talents Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister have joined for just over €100m combined.
Travis Levison | Get Football
