Liverpool legend Steve Nicol says Romeo Lavia’s valuation is a lot of money, however, he is confident the 19-year-old will succeed at Anfield.
Lavia has been heavily linked with a move to the Reds following his outstanding performances for Southampton last season. He made 34 appearances and made two goal contritions across all competitions.
Liverpool have had an initial bid worth £34m plus £4m in add-ons for the player rejected by the Saints who want £50m for the midfielder.
He moved to the St Mary’s Stadium last summer from Treble winners Manchester City and has four years left on his current contract therefore Russell Martin’s outfit are under no pressure to sell.
Man City are entitled to 20 percent of any fee received for his services, hence Southampton are firm on their asking price.
“Yeah it does, it seems a lot of money. It does seem a lot of money for a guy with little experience, however I’m sure that they’ve looked at the stats and I’m sure that every man and his dog connected with Liverpool has watched over and over this guy live and on tape,” Nicol told ESPN FC via Liverpool Echo.
“I’m sure that they’ve dug into his background – every single thing about him – and that’ll determine whether they go the extra mile to bring him in.
“I mean at 19 years old, you’re talking about another 10 years he could maybe spend at Liverpool if they think his game can go from where it is now – which let’s be honest, a 19-year-old playing in the Premir League performing the way he did – I know it’s for Southampton, which is a different ball game to go into one of the giants in football – but as a 19-year-old the future looks great for him.”
The Scotsman added: “He can do everything, there’s a rawness to his game, he runs with it an awful lot. “But listen, there’s a 19-year-old who went to Liverpool a long time ago who used to run with the ball a lot and he didn’t end up doing too bad, so it depends on the scouting reports and the stats.”
Co-star and journalist Gab Marcotti responded, “You’re not gonna namedrop?”
“Oh sorry, that was me!” The former Liverpool player had to clarify.
Liverpool have already signed Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai and are still in the market to make further midfield reinforcements.
Jordan Henderson and Fabinho are close to moving to Saudi Arabia with the former already saying his goodbye in an emotional video posted on Wednesday evening.
The Merseysiders have been linked with a move for several midfielders including Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure, Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat, Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch, and Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips.
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