Southampton now expect Liverpool to meet their £50m valuation for midfielder Romeo Lavia.
That is according to journalist Sacha Tavolieri.
On Monday, Sky Sports reported that Liverpool had a £45m bid for Romeo Lavia rejected by Southampton.
However, since then, Tavolieri has claimed that Southampton believe the Reds will eventually increase their offer by another £5m to meet their asking price.
“Been told Southampton FC think now that Liverpool FC will pay the £5m lacking for making the deal of Romeo Lavia after the £45m [proposal] rejected on Monday,” the journalist posted on Twitter.
Liverpool have wasted a lot of time on the Romeo Lavia deal
It has been pretty clear for a while that Southampton have wanted £50m for Lavia. And if Liverpool were willing to make a £45m bid for the Belgian, which has proven to be the case, then they should have just offered the £50m to get a deal done.
They face Chelsea this Sunday at Stamford Bridge, which will be a difficult fixture, with Jurgen Klopp now lacking options in midfield.
Ultimately, you just cannot help but feel that the Reds could have handled this better. The most important thing, though, is that they get Lavia through the door, which they seem to have a good chance of doing.
Liverpool need to sign another midfielder, having lost a whole host of them this summer, with Jordan Henderson and Fabinho both departing Anfield recently.
With so many quality teams in England right now, it looks like it is going to be another competitive season at the top of the Premier League.
If Liverpool can sort out their midfield dilemma, though, and Mohamed Salah continues to do what Mohamed Salah does, Klopp’s men certainly have a good chance of finishing in the top four and making a return to Europe’s elite competition.
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