Charles Watts has backed Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal to sign Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia and how he could prove to be ‘cheaper than Moises Caicedo’.
The Arsenal transfer expert shared how it’s difficult for the club to sign, both Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo this summer, because of the transfer fees on top of their heads.
As a result, he suggested that Romeo Lavia, who was relegated with Southampton this season, could be ‘cheaper’ than the Brighton star and could cost around the ‘£40 million’ mark, as he told his own YouTube channel.
Declan Rice wants to move to the Emirates, but he’s going to cost north of £100 million, as West Ham United try to eek every penny out of their captain.
But with Caicedo on many teams’ radar, including Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea, he could cost a similar amount, with the player demanding £200k-a-week.
That makes life difficult for the Gunners, with Watts talking about the possibility of Lavia, who came through Manchester City’s academy, heading to north London, instead.
“Interesting one, Southampton and Lavia, he has been linked with Arsenal,” said Watts. “A really, really good player. I really like him.
“In the 3-3, against Arsenal at the Emirates, he was great. I thought he was really, really good – he’s young, if Arsenal move towards him, rather than say a Moises Caicedo, it’s because of money. Arsenal are going to shell out £100 million plus for Declan Rice, if they sign him, which makes it difficult for them to sign Caicedo for similar amounts of money, just because of the finances involved.
“If you are going to sign Lavia, then it’s going to be cheaper. It’s not going to be bargain basement, even though Southampton have been relegated. You are still talking probably talking about £40 million, something like that.
“But he is a hell of a talent. He’s not far in his progress as Caicedo is. If you still have Thomas Partey, Jorginho and if you are signing Declan Rice, then that’s not a bad thing. You can bring in somebody like that, a little bit cheaper than Caicedo, who certainly has the ceiling to become a superstar and he showed that, even in a struggling Southampton side – it will be a smart piece of business.”
Lavia would be a smart purchase
Southampton’s relegation takes the glow off the transfer fee on Lavia’s head and Arsenal shouldn’t hesitate in barging in to bring him in.
With Rice the number one target and a large fee set to go on the Englishman, then another addition like Lavia would be wise.
Sometimes, relegated players can be a little off-putting, but in recent times, Gini Wijnaldim, Aaron Ramsdale, Andy Robertson and Nick Pope have all made moves from teams that have gone down and proven to be top, top purchases and performers at their next club.
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