Romeo Lavia ‘chooses Chelsea over Liverpool’ after failed £60m bid

Liverpool are set to miss out on the signing of Southampton’s Romeo Lavia after it was reported that Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign the midfielder.

The Reds had previously bid three times for the 19-year-old, with their latest bid - a £46m offer - being rejected on August 7.

They also bid £111m for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo in a response to Chelsea’s approach for Lavia - the London club then went and agreed a £115m deal to secure the signing of the Ecuador international, leaving Liverpool empty-handed.

According to David Ornstein of the Athletic, Lavia has decided to join Chelsea and a fee in the region of £50million plus add-ons is expected to be enough.

Both Liverpool and Chelsea have also tabled previous bids this summer for Lavia, who has not appeared in Southampton’s opening two games of the 2023-24 Championship season.

The latest news means that Liverpool have missed out on their two primary targets for the defensive midfield role and now there’s a serious question mark alongside how they look to rectify the situation with only a few weeks until the September 1 deadline for the summer window.

Ironically, the two teams who had spent the previous fighting each other over the two transfer deals faced off in their opening Premier League game of the season at Stamford Bridge. An exciting affair saw Liverpool take an early lead before the home side roared back.

But that fixture just highlighted the need for both sides to secure a defensive midfielder, with Jurgen Klopp’s side looking particularly easy to play through midfield. It may have finished honours even on the pitch but off it, there’s only been one winner. Chelsea’s combined spend for the summer window will rise to near £400m if they complete both deals and Liverpool are left wondering where they go from here.