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How does Romeo Lavia fit into Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool plans?
Liverpool have finally made their move for Romeo Lavia.
The highly-rated 19-year-old was named as a potential target for the Reds back in April. Recent reports claimed that although he was liked, Jurgen Klopp would have to lighten the load in midfield before a move could be made.
Now with the impending departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, Liverpool’s interest in Lavia has accelerated. The 2019/20 Premier League champions had an initial bid of £37million rejected but David Ornstein of The Athletic reports a second bid, believed to be in the region of £45million, is being readied.
Klopp will no doubt want the defensive midfielder with the squad for the pre-season trip to Singapore.
At one stage it appeared as though most of the Premier League big six would be in for Lavia after an eye-catching debut campaign in the English top-flight. Southampton may have finished bottom of the table but the former Manchester City academy player made the £14million the Saints paid for him look like a bargain.
There have been reports that the young midfielder could return to the Etihad this summer despite the fact Man City’s buyback clause isn’t active until next summer, it was also claimed that Manchester United were monitoring the Belgium international’s situation, but neither club have made a move, nor have other interested parties including Arsenal and Chelsea.
It means Liverpool have a fairly free run at Lavia with everything seemingly falling into place at the right time for the Reds.
Lavia the ball magnet
The Southampton No45 is a ball magnet. No player under the age of 20 won the ball back in the middle third more times than he did (114) last season.
Second on that particular list was Jude Bellingham on 107. It is an even more impressive metric when you consider Lavia only managed a little over 2,200 minutes last term. You expect a player in a struggling side to be busy but the difference with the 19-year-old is that he was efficient too.
Per FBref, he was in the 71st percentile for tackles, the 73rd percentile for interceptions and the 96th percentile for blocks. Lavia is a transition killer. He just has ways to stop counter-attacks and this was one of Liverpool’s biggest issues last season.
One of the best examples of Lavia in action can be seen above. Newcastle have men over on their right and Bruno Guimaraes is looking to find them. The Southampton man initially prevents the Brazilian playmaker from turning before he eventually pokes the ball away to a teammate and it is Southampton who are able to break.
At times during the 2022/23 season, the likes of Fabinho and Henderson weren’t able to stop that pass from being played and Liverpool were wide over in central areas.
Talented but still a work in progress
Lavia is still a work in progress though. He can be a little reckless and sloppy with his tackles, though he was successful with 65% of his attempted tackles, this is no doubt why he managed to pick up nine yellow cards last term. But timing improves with experience and exposure to more of these situations.
He is much more than just a destroyer though.
He has a calmness in possession and he’s adept at finding ways out of trouble. He’s a stress reliever in the defensive third and this will be beneficial to the way Liverpool look to play out from the back. He’s extremely composed under pressure and rarely seems rushed, even when pressed from multiple angles.
For Southampton, he was completely over one dribble per 90 in the Premier League. It might not seem like much but it put him in the 75th percentile for this particular metric.
He retains the ball well too and finished the campaign with a pass success rate of 87%.
The £50million-rated midfielder can contribute with and without the ball. He has the ability to impact games now but his potential could see him develop into one of the best in the world in his position.
Due to his age, he will be inconsistent but that is expected. He’s yet to play as a single pivot for a sustained period of time at senior level and not for a team as dominant as Liverpool, so he’s going to have to learn that role.
Lavia will be the anchor
If the Reds are to use the 3-2-2-3 shape they finished the season with, Lavia could play the left-sided role of a midfield two alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold. He played in a double pivot for Southampton with a playmaker beside him in James Ward-Prowse so he has experience in a similar dynamic.
He isn’t as tall or as aerially dominant as Fabinho but he does share some traits with the Brazilian. He’s very good at getting a toe to the ball and that made the former Monaco man a key cog in this Liverpool team, he allowed them to keep the pressure on the opposition.
If Lavia can do what he did for Southampton, just a little higher up the pitch, he could be as effective as the player nicknamed ‘The Dyson’ by Klopp.
Whatever the shape the German tactician opts to use, the one-cap Belgium international is going to be viewed as the anchor in midfield.
Lavia is a project right now and Liverpool are going to be paying for potential. It may seem like an overpayment in the short-term but if he develops as many expect him to, he will be viewed as a bargain.
The way the midfielder market is going, it might be impossible to sign a top-class talent for under the £80million mark soon.
