Rumour Mongering: Reds in Four-Way Race for Romeo

While new and tasty transfer stories abound on this day, as both Khéphren Thuram and Kouadio Koné have been heavily linked with imminent moves to Merseyside, there is time for a rumour classic, as Southampton’s Romeo Lavia is also reportedly in Liverpool’s sights this summer.

The 19-year old had been linked with a move to the Reds at multiple occasions this season, as it became increasingly clear that midfield reinforcement were sorely needed, and according to Football Insider, the Anderlecht youth product remains a person of interest.

Liverpool will be facing competition from Arsenal, Chelsea (who definitely need to buy some more players) and Manchester City, with the latter having inserted a £40m buyback clause in the player’s contract when selling him to Southampton last summer. That clause does not become active until next year, however, and the petrostate blues are supposedly worried Lavia might have gone elsewhere before then.

Having set up a tap-in for Diogo Jota only three days ago, Lavia has both developed a certain chemistry with the Reds, and shown that talented though he may be, he is far from the finished product, and would require time to grow into the player he could become, rather than be expected to be a major contributor on day one.