James Pearce admitted he couldn’t believe that negotiations were still ongoing between Liverpool and Southampton for Romeo Lavia.
Even with his claim, the journalist was quick to point out the flawed logic behind the criticism of the club’s talks.
Although a third bid for Lavia has been rejected by Southampton, the Reds are still said to be in negotiations with the club.
However, there has been a lot of criticism revolving around the club’s slow and steady approach towards the Belgian’s transfer.
This has mostly been from fans. But, former player, James Carragher also shared his unhappiness regarding the situation.
‘What on earth are we doing?’ James Pearce on Lavia to Liverpool transfer saga
While talking on Walk On podcast, the Athletic reporter said that the discussions and negotiations are ongoing.
“As we sit here now, those discussions and negotiations are still ongoing. It just seems to have dragged on. As we reported on Monday before Liverpool’s final friendly against Darmstadt at Preston, they put in a third bid that had been rejected.
If you include the add-ons, it was about £46m. Southampton sticking to their guns that the valuation is £50m plus. I know a few people have said to me ‘for the sake of £4-5m, what on earth are we doing?’ but I think that’s probably a little too simplistic because it’s also about the structure of the deal.
We don’t know how much of that £46m Liverpool put in that third bid, how much of it was guaranteed, how much of it was linked to performance-related add-ons, because we know Southampton turned down £50m from Chelsea last year, not long after they actually signed him from Man City.
They regard Lavia as one of the best young players in the world in his position and are adamant that they won’t budge from that. I can’t quite believe we’re still sat here talking about ‘will it happen, or won’t it happen’ and I really hope by that time this podcast goes out that it has happened but at the moment there’s no agreement.”
A fourth bid has since been submitted, though how this has gone down over on the South Coast remains vaguely unclear. This is amid the Saints’ decision to not include Lavia within their cup squad against Gillingham.
Lavia not starting for Southampton
The former Manchester City youngster isn’t cup-tied as a result, as things currently stand. However, the upcoming clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge should prove to be motivation enough to finalise a deal.
After the departure of Henderson and Fabinho, we need to prepare for the departure of Thiago..
This would leave a huge void in our midfield even though we have made two brilliant signings in Mac Allister and Szoboszlai.
However, this transfer saga of Lavia could remind us of Thuram deal which collapsed after a lot of speculations.
The fans are fearing a repeat of similar events with the Belgian. The Reds are again claiming the price to be too high.
The slow approach has surely worried the Red half of the Merseyside. And it could be a tight call for Klopp with PL opener against Chelsea just a few days away.
I’m a football enthusiast and an avid writer and someone who lives by the Bill Shankly quote, on a day to day basis.
