Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant is questioning Romeo Lavia’s decision to choose Chelsea over Liverpool with a £58 million return to the Premier League imminent.
The only reason Pennant can think of, mulling over Romeo Lavia’s decision on talkSPORT (16 August, 1pm), is a geographical one.
Chelsea, after all, is a lot closer to the Belgian’s current Southampton home than Merseyside. After Liverpool finally agreed a fee with the Saints, Lavia opted for Stamford Bridge instead; taking a leaf out of another of Jurgen Klopp’s midfield targets Moises Caicedo.
“It’s a difficult one,” sighs Pennant, who played for Liverpool between 2006 and 2009. “Because the top two (targets, Lavia and Caicedo) have just been snatched by Chelsea. It’s really annoying.”
Romeo Lavia chooses Chelsea over Liverpool
Klopp has publicly bemoaned the lack of a natural ‘number six’ in his Liverpool squad following the departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia. Alexis Mac Allister filled in during Sunday’s topsy-turvy 1-1 draw against (funnily enough) Chelsea, and the ease in which Mauricio Pochettino’s side cut through their visitors will have alarmed those in the away section.
And Pennant feels that Liverpool are paying the price for letting negotiations for Lavia drag on. The six-time European champions had three bids rejected by Southampton. And, according to Belgian reporter Sacha Tavolieri, the former Manchester City youngster was left questioning Liverpool’s commitment to signing him after that brief dalliance with Caicedo.
“As soon as July comes up, you should be going to Southampton and Brighton and getting the deal done,” Pennant argues, insisting that Lavia would have found minutes a lot easier to come by at Anfield than at Stamford Bridge.
“They are in a really awkward position. This could ruin their season. They are very weak in the midfield and will get overrun.
“I’ve tried to think what could be the reason (why Lavia chose Chelsea). You can’t say I’m going to Chelsea because they are a bigger club’, or that ‘I want to play in Europe’.
“And he’s got more chance of starting at Liverpool because they’ve got no number six. Chelsea have a few who can play in that position already.
“I don’t think wages would have been a problem for either side. So it all comes down to destination. London is amazing on the eye to these players. And its only an hour down the road from Southampton.”
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