Southampton make interesting Romeo Lavia decision amid Liverpool transfer interest

Liverpool target Romeo Lavia has featured in Southampton's opening pre-season friendly. But the midfielder only played for 30 minutes in the clash against Benfica.

Lavia is expected to depart Southampton in the summer transfer window following their relegation from the Premier League last season.

New manager Russell Martin has conceded that he expects to lose some of the south-coast outfit's prized assets - with Lavia, who is on Liverpool’s radar, being one of them.

As Southampton prepare for life back in the Championship, they faced Portuguese champions Benfica at St George’s Park. Lavia started on the bench before emerging for the start of the second half. However, Lavia was withdrawn in the 76th minute of the 2-0 loss.

Timo Livramento and Kyle Walker-Peters, who have also been linked with departures from St Mary’s, played the entire second period.

A price tag of around £50 million has been slapped on Lavia’s head. As things stand, that may be too expensive for Liverpool having already splashed out £95 million on Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai from Brighton and RB Leipzig respectively.

The Reds may look to swoop for Lavia should they raise funds, however. Thiago Alcantara has attracted interest from Saudi Arabia and Turkey while Jordan Henderson is also said to be wanted by Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq.