It is confirmed that Romeo Lavia has picked Chelsea over Liverpool
As per an exclusive from David Ornstein for The Athletic (subscription required), Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia has decided to move to Chelsea instead of Liverpool in this transfer window.
A fee in the region of £50m plus add-ons would be enough for the Blues to find an agreement with Saints for the 19-year-old.
Earlier in the day, it was revealed in the Guardian that Liverpool have cracked a deal worth £60m to sign the Belgian international.
But, Paul Joyce of the Times has reported that the Reds have had no agreement with the Championship side for the midfielder.
The club has had three bids previously rejected for a player who was wanted by Jurgen Klopp as a direct Fabinho replacement in defensive midfield.
We are in a situation where Liverpool have lost out on two key midfield targets in the space of a few hours – Moises Caicedo and Lavia. Both have picked Chelsea over a move to Anfield.
Where do the club go from here? Well, there are scouts and recruitment people earning millions who need to get their acts together for the remainder of this window.
Liverpool cannot end this window meekly. If that is the case, then a grim season is on the cards. As magical as Klopp is as the manager, he is not a magician. He needs the right resources to make the team compete at the highest front.
Right now, the German has not been backed or helped in the way a proper club does. There are so many good players in the squad who are getting let down by this naive approach as well.
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The hierarchy needs to knuckle down and push for the next best options sooner rather than later.
