Liverpool must sign £80m+ midfielder after third Lavia bid failed

Liverpool have had a third bid for Romeo Lavia rejected as Southampton continue to defend their stance that the 19-year-old is worth £50m.

Paul Joyce took to Twitter to report that the club has had a third bid of £45m rejected.

Value of each bid so far:

1. £34m plus £4m
2. £42m
   
3. £45m
   

Jamie Carragher has come out and labelled the chase as embarrassing. Most notably, he said: "If you don't think, he's worth £50m. move one. If you really want him, pay it."

Sky Sports reporter Melissa Reddy confirms that Liverpool remain locked in negotiations despite the failed bid to sign the Belgian.

James Pearce of the Athletic states that Lavia is "desperate" to join Liverpool after Dutch news outlet HLN reported he "really wants" to join the club on Monday morning.

Liverpool's entire transfer approach has lacked the cutting edge it has displayed in recent years and with interest in the midfielder very public, they have put themselves in a position where supporters and pundits are rightly questioning the logic behind it.

Southampton have made it very clear to all interested clubs that they will not sell Lavia for anything less £50m with Paul Joyce now reporting they will only sell the player if they receive offers that exceed that figure.

Should Liverpool pivot their attention to Caicedo?

With Carragher mentioning Liverpool should be in the race to sign Moises Caicedo, it's an interesting one to look at.

Even though he would be an automatic starter at Anfield, the Ecuadorian is not the type of midfielder that is so desperately needed since Liverpool sold Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.

A double departure that left Jurgen Klopp without suitable options in the no.6 role. Last season ended with a lack of acceptable box to box midfielders and now that has been solved with the arrival of Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, Klopp's squad has been laid bare again.

The decision to sell Henderson and Fabinho isn't necessarly a poor one as both midfielders were no longer up to scratch but Liverpool's response has been questionable.

Stalling on paying the going rate for Lavia is going to hurt Liverpool even more.

With less than a week until kickoff in the 2023/24 Premier League, FSG need to pay up and sanction the finances required to get back on par with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City.