Romeo Lavia is yet to play for Southampton this season as transfer talks with Liverpool continue and Chelsea enter the picture
Liverpool might have had three bids rejected for Romeo Lavia, but the writing very much appears on the wall when it comes to the Belgian’s Southampton future.
An unused substitute for the Saints’ Championship opener away at Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night, the 19-year-old didn’t even make the travelling squad for their shock League Cup first round loss at the hands of Gillingham on Tuesday. With Lavia’s head reportedly turned by the Reds’ interest, Southampton’s decision to not field the midfielder so far this season tells its own story. Whether it is Anfield or elsewhere, he looks set to leave.
Ensuring he is not cup-tied by sparing him League Cup duty, the Saints have also made sure the teenager avoids unnecessary injury in match action ahead of an expected big-money exit. A St. Mary’s departure seems a matter of when rather than if.
With the likes of Manchester United, and Paris Saint-Germain also credited with interest in the teenager, Southampton are under no pressure to sell Lavia on the cheap. Meanwhile, Man City possess a £40m buyback clause next summer, while Chelsea had a £50m bid rejected last summer to justify their current demands. The Stamford Bridge outfit are now very much back at the table, with suggestions a £48m offer has been submitted in an attempt to hijack Liverpool’s move.
