Liverpool have been strongly linked with a move for Romeo Lavia this summer and now a new update has emerged on the club's pursuit of the player.
What's the latest on Liverpool's interest in Romeo Lavia?
According to Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg, Liverpool are one of the Premier League clubs in "concrete talks" to sign the Southampton midfielder this summer.
Plettenberg took to Twitter to reveal:
"Roméo #Lavia, there are still concrete talks with Chelsea, Arsenal, especially with Liverpool as Klopp is a big fan! #LFC.
"Been told that his price tag is around £50m this summer! Confirmed: Barcelona was targeting the 19 y/o but his price is not affordable for Barca this summer."
What type of midfielder is Romeo Lavia?
Jurgen Klopp and his new sporting director Jorg Schmadtke have wasted no time in kicking off the much-needed midfield rebuild this summer, with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai joining the Merseyside giants ahead of next season.
Whilst the pair will significantly bolster the attacking presence in midfield, there is certainly room for improvement in the more defensive operations in the centre of the pitch with Fabinho struggling to maintain his high standards over the last campaign.
The Brazilian mainstay was subjected to a lot of criticism for his lacklustre performances in the deeper role of the midfield three last season, with talkSPORT pundit Scott Minto slamming the former Monaco man:
"You talk about (Jordan) Henderson, yes, but you talk about Fabinho at the moment. Who is he at the moment? I don’t know who he is, it’s like his twin brother playing at the moment. He’s certainly not the player that he has been in recent years."
Now with a move for Lavia looking a huge possibility, it could spell the end for Fabinho's reign at Anfield and if the Southampton star can make a quick impact in midfield he could become Klopp's most trusted and relied upon presence in the defensive role.
When comparing the positional peers' output during last season, despite only being 19 years old and far less experienced, the Saints star outperformed Fabinho in his successful take-ons rate (56% v 46.7%) and percentage of dribblers tackled (39.6% v 38.7%), as per FBref.
Not only that, the Manchester City academy graduate – hailed "sensational" by journalist Lewis Steele – has completed more tackles per 90 (2.43) compared to Fabinho (2.13) over the last 12 months and has been more successful in interceptions per 90 (1.34 v 1.25) and blocks per 90 (1.90 v 1.25) too.
The only stumbling block Liverpool have to overcome in their interest of Lavia is his inflated price tag with his recently relegated club refusing to budge on the whopping £50m they have put on their young prospect's head this summer, and after already spending over £95m it would come as no surprise to the Anfield faithful if their tight-spending owners refused to sanction the move at the quoted fee.
With that being said, the signing of Lavia would be a major coup for Klopp in his pursuit to build the next generation of talent that can compete for multiple trophies like those before them, and it could ultimately be over for Fabinho if he can't compete with Lavia's output in the Liverpool team next season.
