Liverpool have long been engaged in talks with Southampton over the potential purchase of the 19-year-old midfielder, but they have, so far, proven fruitless. Two bids have been rejected, to date, by the South Coast club, with Liverpool coming nowhere near the desired price of £50 million.
Sources close to Southampton have advised World In Sport, that a bid of £48m inclusive of favourable add-ons would likely be considered acceptable, however, the club remains bullish in their stance that they will not stray far from what they deem market value for the young Belgian.
Links remain regarding Fluminense midfielder, Andre and more recent reports have suggested Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall of Leicester City has come under consideration. It does remain, however, that Lavia is Liverpool’s primary target, so it is a not-so-simple case of the club matching Southampton’s expectations over price.
Talks have continued over the last week, and have been described as “Slow” but that is expected to change over the course of this week, with a trip to Chelsea on the Horizon for Liverpool next weekend and Southampton having a trip to Gillingham on Tuesday night. The Reds will not want Lavia appearing in too many games, with a potential risk of injury.
It remains our understanding that Liverpool has a desire for 2 Midfielders and a Centre Back prior to the closure of the Transfer Window, although the primary focus is firmly on the Defensive Midfield berth currently.
Liverpool still has leg work to do in order to entice Southampton’s prized asset away from St Mary’s, with Southampton Chief Executive Phil Parsons telling BBC Radio Solent why Lavia won’t be sold on the cheap;
“We are looking at all options, but let’s be realistic,” he said, speaking to BBC Radio Solent Sport. “We’ve got 30-plus players and we don’t need 30-plus players. We’re actually in a position to make sure the finances balance out quite well and you do get hit substantially being relegated.
“We can trim the squad, we can sell assets if we want to. We won’t be selling assets on the cheap. And that’s why we stood firm on a few.
“We will develop a lot of players over the coming years and there will be players who gone on to join top-four clubs but we won’t be doing it at a cheap rate, we will be doing it at the going rate. If clubs want to place offers with us, we will look at them. We won’t be saying just yes to any offer through the door.
“Southampton is a great club and if you do well for Southampton and deserve a move, maybe we’ll look at it but let’s focus on Southampton first and doing well and then we’ll talk about other clubs second.”
This has proven a window of some frustration for the Merseysiders, with Jörg Schmadtke, Liverpool’s new Sporting Director, taking charge of transfer negotiations. Schmadtke’s deal is only short-term, with a review due at the end of his current arrangement. With that firmly in mind, he will be keen for the club to be suitably equipped to go and challenge for major honours again this coming season.
Jamie Brown
(@JRBScribbles)
