Jurgen Klopp risks losing top target as Chelsea could hijack Liverpool deal

Liverpool is pushing to sign Southampton’s Romeo Lavia after having a £37m bid rejected. The next few days will be crucial as the club want to close a deal in short order. Liverpool are due to travel to Singapore soon for their friendlies against Leicester City and Bayern, meaning should Lavia sign soon, he will have to catch up with the rest of the squad.

Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Liverpool are preparing a second bid for Romeo Lavia. The bid will be worth £42.5m put, including add-ons that could see the deal rise to £45m. It has been long reported that Southampton is holding out for £50m, but this may be the most expensive package they get all summer.

In Southampton’s latest friendly, Romeo Lavia was described as having a lot going on. The club is clearly aware of the interest, and even manager Russell Martin knows there’s transfer speculation on the midfielder.

It’s hard to believe a scenario where the youngster isn’t pushing for a move away. With a Championship season on the cards at Southampton, Lavia will want to be back playing in the Premier League this season. Fabrizio Romano believes that Liverpool wants to finalize the move soon, as Chelsea could still be lurking around on a transfer hijack. Additionally, Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri thinks that Chelsea’s Joe Shields, who is involved with scouting at the club, is pushing to bring Romeo Lavia to Chelsea. Joe Shields has a relationship with Lavia dating back to his academy role at Manchester City. He was also briefly the chief scout at Southampton when the club signed Romeo Lavia.

It’s not a secret that Joe Shields wants to bring the midfielder to Chelsea. A £50m bid in January from Chelsea was rejected by Southampton. Liverpool is still the frontrunner, of course, but Chelsea is no stranger to hijacking deals, so it is a situation to watch absolutely.