Romeo Lavia allegedly despised Liverpool’s strategy and decided to sign for Chelsea. As Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino prepared their respective teams for the opening weekend of the Premier League, the two clubs battled each other over midfield signings.
Liverpool were Lavia’s favourites for most of the summer until Chelsea made a wonderful offer last week. Chelsea’s technique appeared to pique Lavia’s interest as Liverpool struggled for a new deal with Southampton.
After all, the Reds agreed on Monday a £60m payment with Southampton to sign Lavia. But it depended on how Chelsea and Lavia reacted to Liverpool’s deal.
It is now claimed that Lavia has to move to Chelsea instead of Liverpool, which is another blow to Jurgen Klopp.
According to The Athletic, Lavia has already made it clear to Liverpool that he needs to sign for Chelsea. His preference for moving to Stamford Bridge follows the announcement that Moises Caicedo is also signing for Chelsea in a record £115 million transfer.
It is said that Chelsea’s move to Lavia will likely collect £50 million plus the extra payment and that the deal could be closed this week. It also forces Liverpool to look for chosen targets just weeks before the transfer market.
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Klopp has now enjoyed back-to-back summers in which he missed his midfield goal. Just 12 months ago, Liverpool were very interested in a move for Aurelian Tchouameni before the Frenchman opted for Real Madrid.
It has been reported that the Reds are still keeping an eye on the 23-year-old, who played the full 90 minutes for Real Madrid in his season opener this weekend. Tchouameni would have no preference for leaving the Bernabeu anytime soon and needs his long career at Real.
Liverpool have been connected with midfielders in the past, such as Inter Milan star Nicolo Barella and Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong.