Southampton boss Russell Martin has been speaking about 19-year-old Roméo Lavia, who Liverpool has already seen three bids turned down for so far this summer.
Southampton manager Russell Martin has left the door open for a potential sale of midfielder Roméo Lavia following Liverpool’s so-far unsuccessful attempts to secure the young talent this summer.
The Reds have identified the 19-year-old as a long-term replacement for Fabinho, who recently left Anfield for Saudi side Al-Ittihad in a $52m (£40m/€46m) move. Despite Liverpool’s persistent pursuit, Southampton has rejected three offers, including the latest bid of around $59m (£46m/€53m).
But in an interesting development, Lavia was not included in the Southampton squad for its League Cup defeat against Gillingham midweek. This absence has sparked speculation that Liverpool could soon find a breakthrough in negotiations, with the club hoping to make him its third signing of the summer after Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
When questioned about Lavia’s absence after the match, Martin refrained from directly addressing the situation but acknowledged the possibility of player movement before the transfer deadline in September. Southampton has maintained a firm stance on its valuation of $64m (£50m/€58m) for Lavia, but Martin hinted that there could still be changes within the squad.
“We have a big group, but only so many players that can help us,” Martin said during an interview with BBC Radio Solent (via the Liverpool ECHO). “There needs to be movement for sure. [Director of football] Jason [Wilcox] has been very honest about it, and he feels exactly the same way, and so do the ownership group.
“But also, there needs to be movement that suits us as a club. I don’t envisage anything changing between now and the weekend, but it’s football, right, so anything can happen. We’ll be prepared for everything and anything. The guys we left behind today, it isn’t out of lack of respect for the competition or anything like that.”
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Liverpool has admired Lavia for some time and having made three offers for the player, talks have continued over finding a resolution as the new season edges ever closer.
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