And that’s the risk you take. Even Rooney was a gamble although he looked like a sure thing but then you have transfers like Fabio Silva who looks a dud and our very own Lazar Markovic.
Why not us, because of the fee or because you don’t rate the player?
If because of the fee just pretend in your mind that we spent the bigger sum on MacAllister.
The question is not he worth 50m or not but he will improve us or not. Does he bring something we are lacking right now ?
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Yes, we basically have no hard tackling midfielder. Our best defensive stats come from Thiago Alcantara. Let that sink in.
So he definitely has something that can improve us, only question is is he the best at that price point. I think the club are most probably also considering the fact that he counts as homegrown as there might be a left-sided CB inbound too, who might not be homegrown.
The interesting thing about the link is he’s really a different type of player to Fab. I think a lot of people want to bring someone in as the new defensive lynchpin of the midfield and are assuming that is who this kid is, but he is seemingly a different sort of player than that. Less an upgrade on Fab and more a change in direction of how to fill the role. At under 6’ he lacks Fab’s aerial ability, which has been key in Fab’s role for us, and most his strengths are progressive rather the destructive.
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This! I get it, we are in the process of rejuvenation, old guard and injury-prone guard is being replaced but I hope that players who are brought in to replace them are up for it because we’ve already wasted one season and probably can’t afford to waste more.
I won’t be surprised if any club that buy Lavia this summer manage to negotiate a deal that is structured to reflect his future performance. They might sell him for 50 million pounds or thereabouts but I’m certain it will include significant add-ons like the number of games played, trophies won, international caps etc.
Does he get into our first eleven at this moment? I don’t think so. Does he have potential to become a top class player? It does look like it. I would prefer a ready-made Fabinho replacement, to be honest, but I think that Klopp will be able to manage that position between the player he already has at his disposal.
Maybe Alcantara, who isn’t a guaranteed starter, gets sold, which might require another player coming in (might be Lavia), and maybe Klopp decides to reshuffle his midfield by using all three of Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Jones as starters? I wouldn’t bet against either.
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Only if cheaty buy him though, they can choose not to.
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What about the player? If he’s being courted by top six PL clubs, will he want to hang around in the Championship playing at Plymouth and Preston?
People might think this is a bad comparison, but for the all “upgrade Fab” talk about this kid, I think he’s arguably closer to a deep lying version of Thiago.
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There is a part of me that dreads Klopp trying that experiment again - but there is also a part of me that screams “try Jones there” now that Mac Allister and Szoboszlai are there.
I’m not sure where exactly Lavia fits but if our club buy him, it will be because Klopp knows exactly what to do with his midfield in general and how the individuals fit into various scenarios. I see Lavia as the deepest lying midfielder but I’m really not sure about what his role might be. He’s more than a destroyer but less than a playmaker in my eyes.
Jones did just excel at the u-21s in a deep lying role as part of a 2. That seems to open intriguing possibilities with the number of versatile attacks we have as well as the 3-4-3 in attack Taa shift that closed last season.
I’ll find pre- season interesting to watch to get an idea what Klopp is thinking about tactics and best positions for a number of players.
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Sometimes we get stuck on the price and go around and around. On the one hand, it’s valid, and we can give an opinion on whether we should spend this or that, given the relative merits of the player. It keeps the football forums whirring!
But on the other hand, it’s all ridiculous if you scratch the surface and think of the game at the highest level. The financial side lost the plot and decoupled from the real world more than a generation ago.
With that said, if it’s a player we want, and we can make the deal work, then we should do it!
On the financial side, if Szoboszlai cost a tidy sum, but nobody is complaining because he is a tidy player, the fee was about right. So what about MacAllister? We got a great deal there because of the release clause he insisted on, when he signed a new deal with Brighton. Most people would say we got him for around half his true value, given the inflated market we see at the top of the game.
Therefore there is a sense that we are £30M ‘ahead’ of the game, and are now playing with house money. So if we use 20M of that to buy a 50M player, who some might think is only worth 30M, then so be it.
All under the caveat, of course, that we want the player, and we have the means to do a deal. If so, let’s get it done.
Other possible variables might be the cb deal we might want to do, and/or alternate players to Lavia, such as Kone. Perhaps the stattos at the club are weighing the merits of Kone, for two thirds the price of a Lavia?
I’m chilled about the whole thing, and interested to see how it pans out.
I hope we sign Lavia and Colwill, but that might be fanciful.
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Sure, but the onus will be on him to kick up enough of a stink to make them want to sell. I haven’t seen anything so far to suggest he’s going to do that, but that could change as the window progresses…
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Of course, but at the moment, without knowing their intentions 12 months hence, it’s basically a Schrodinger’s Buy-out Clause situation, and the theoretical presence of it sets the baseline of Southampton’s expectations on the fee.
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A like for like replacement for Fab isn’t what we need as the game has moved on, with more and more teams playing a pressing style game which we have struggled against and Fab has never been a press-resistant type of player.
I haven’t watched enough of Lavia but if he can win the ball back like Thiago and then offer the same type of play-making skills with more pace, then I am in!
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i have a feeling we might move on him this week if klopp really wants him in… klopp is very big on pre-season and would want the kid in sooner rather than later
Not at that price. Likely a waiting game with Soton to see if they’ll flinch first.
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My quibble on Lavia is price, he is young has shown a bit of promise last season bearing in mind it was at a relegated club.Still if Klopp really wants him,I’m not about to argue, except about 50m.
I guess price is the bigger issue for me. But price would not be an issue so much if Lavia is almost like a must have, too good an opportunity to miss. Thats probably how the club felt about Dominik, that is why they did not even bother dragging out negotiating a lower than the release clause. So while its you say I say about Lavia’s quality, I do not think he is at the level of Dominik that we will pay whatever Soton ask for. And regarding that just because we had supposedly save alot on Macalister, its ok to “overpay” for Lavia, that is probably a very strange way to look at value because like in grocery shopping, if we happen to get a good deal on wagyu beef today, that does not mean I should feel ok paying double for onions.
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I hear you! If Lavia is the player we want, and we can afford it, hopefully we close a deal.
The way we go about our business helps to rein the prices back a bit, as we haggle hard for every deal and won’t go beyond our valuation.
Klopp appears to want Lavia, but I wouldn’t have a clue what valuation the club places on him. Given the other clubs who are in for him, I would be very surprised if it was less than £40M.