16 August 2023 , 08:09
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Liverpool look set to miss out on a deal for Romeo Lavia after the Southampton starlet was left baffled by the Reds' tactics in their attempts to sign him.
Jurgen Klopp may have already snapped up Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai this summer, but the German is still in the market for midfield reinforcements after losing both Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to the Saudi Pro League.
It seemed as though Lavia was the Reds' preferred target to complete their new-look midfield before they then decided to change tact and lodge a £111million bid for Moises Caicedo. Liverpool returned to talks over a deal for Lavia after Caicedo turned them down in favour of a move to Chelsea - but the damage had already been done.
According to The Guardian, Lavia and his camp were left 'bemused' by Liverpool's tactics, which effectively made the talented teenager feel like a second-choice target. Despite the fact that Liverpool have now agreed a fee in excess of £50m for Lavia's services, the midfielder is expected to follow Caicedo to Chelsea.
That effectively means Liverpool will have to go back to the drawing board with just over two weeks left in the transfer window - meaning time is very much against Klopp in his bid to acquire a defensive midfielder.
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The club's transfer strategy was brutally torn apart by Anfield favourite Jamie Carragher on Monday night in the wake of their latest bid for Lavia.
Join the debate! What do you make of Liverpool's transfer business? Let us know here.
Romeo Lavia is poised to join Chelsea after rejecting a move to Liverpool (James Williamson/Getty Images)Liverpool headed into the summer knowing that they needed to rebuild their engine room after a disappointing season and Carragher is unimpressed that the Reds have started the new campaign with work still to be done in the market.
"They just put a bid in for £60m when they refused to pay £50m a few days ago," Carragher fumed on Sky Sports. "It's an absolute mess, it’s a joke. To not have things in order, this isn't on the owners either. It's the structure of the club, what are Liverpool doing? They're not spending the same money as the other teams, and in the space of 18 months, Liverpool have had four directors of football.
"They haven't got deals done - that's your job in that role. The two players they bought had buyout clauses, there's no negotiations in those! They can’t get deals over the line, they don't pay the certain amounts. It's an absolute mess, it's a joke."
Carragher's Monday Night Football co-host Gary Neville also chimed in, claiming that the Reds made a mistake in allowing Fabinho and Henderson to leave the club.
Neville added: "I think it was also a mistake to let Henderson, Milner, Fabinho go before they bought in their replacements. I don’t know how this has happened.
"I always thought Liverpool were smart in bringing players in before they exposed themselves. They have got a big problem now, they will be panicking in the transfer window and Liverpool don’t do that under Jurgen Klopp."