Romeo Lavia is up for transfer, but Liverpool are in a hurry to sign him after allowing negotiations to drag on. However, they have received a boost because Lavia won’t play against Southampton tonight in the Carabao Cup.
A third offer of £46 million for the 19-year-old was turned down on Monday afternoon. With confidence in his potential and aware of the Reds’ desperate need for a defensive midfielder, the relegated team has been adamant about its £50 million asking price for their prized asset.
With just five days until Liverpool’s Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Anfield officials have so far failed to meet this requirement, which has made it incredibly difficult for Jurgen Klopp to field a balanced squad on the first day.
Liverpool was taking a big chance by continuing discussions into the week leading up to the new season. If Lavia plays for the Saints tonight and later moves to Merseyside, there was a chance that he would become cup-tied for the 2023–24 Carabao Cup, but this concern no longer exists.
This is due to BBC Sport’s confirmation on Tuesday morning that manager Russell Martin’s plans for the game at Gillingham this evening do not include Klopp’s top target.
The Belgian would not have been eligible to play for another team in the same tournament this year had he played tonight because the Reds will enter the competition in the third round as a result of their participation in the Europa League this coming season.
A major red flag that the 2023 midfield rebuild has not gone as planned is the fact that such a scenario was even allowed to enter anyone’s mind, let alone that it actually occurred.
Even though this obstacle has been overcome, Merseyside residents still need to be aware of Premier League regulations given the drastically reduced amount of time left before the season’s opening match on Sunday.
In other words, Lavia will not be eligible for Sunday’s trip to the capital if he is not a member of Liverpool by Friday lunchtime.
Again, despite the fact that the midfield’s issues first surfaced at the beginning of the previous season a year ago, allowing this situation to persist can only be described as a failure to take the initiative in the transfer market.
