I’d suggest if we are really after this lad we would have picked him up for the start of the season. Get him introduced to Klopp’s playing style. Even if we get him now it will be weeks before he gets integrated with a new team. I’m not sure we’re 100% into this lad.
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I’m not sure until a few weeks back we had two midfielders who arguably are probably most suited to that role. Hendo had played his best games in recent times there and Fabinho was there.
Dealing with the Saudi’s has been an arse ache, I do think there is some possibility elsewhere hence why we haven’t concluded this deal within the last couple of days but I wonder if Klopp feels they can go into the season without and wait.
I assume some cash was available before those two moved so we’ve probably got rhe cash to do a deal but say a DM who is at the level required could come available we might hold. Reminds me a bit of Dom’s situation.
The major issue is that I think we have a decent CM but at DM we have a glaring hole. Konate looked more at ease when he played instead of Matip but again it opens up the question that we need a CB.
This may not be resolved until the window shuts. The fixture list somewhat concerns me it’s not an easy start when we are still waiting. Though perhaps with Spain starting the same week as us and Germany a week later it may become clear before we reach Newcastle on the 27th.
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I was thinking of that guy the other day , and for the life of me I couldn’t even recall his name !
I think we are into him - why bid twice for a player you dont want - I dont think we wanted him now but have been thrown by Fab and Hendo leaving so now need to get him in.
He isnt being signed as an immediate starter but as a squad option who could force his way into being an automatic first choice, so there has been no need to rush his signing.
He is young, fit, and used to playing similar football styles as we do, so along with being a squad player, missing the pre season training wont be a big problem.
And, if we were not interested the club would not have put in a formal bid, let alone two.
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£50m seems a tad high for merely a squad player. We aren’t cheaty or PSG, who sign players simply because they can. Once he finds his feet he’s a nailed-on starter I’d imagine.
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That’s why the negotiations have been relatively slow. The club are trying to pay a fee at least 25% lower than that.
I’m not sure we are paying 50 million for a work in progress when we have a genuine desperate need for a DM. If we believe all the so called pundits we had Kone, Thuram, Gravanich and the rest nailed down. So have we really bid for Lavia.
Nobody even half reliable said we had any of those 3 nailed down, or even that we’d made a bid, only that we had an ‘interest’ in the players.
We obviously have bid for Lavia. You’re doing the same thing Semmy did when he was insistent Henderson wasn’t going anywhere and it was all paper talk.
There are a handful of reliable sources who only give out solid information, the fact that the other 99.9% of reporters make up nonsense doesn’t change that.
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So the day after our bid is placed and rejected Lavia is then getting linked to United in the press.
We’re then also getting strongly linked with Andre in the press too on that very same day.
And on the same day our bid is rejected, Brighton supposedly receive a “mystery bid from a club that they can’t even disclose to Caicedo” and the press link that to us.
Sounds like everyone is doing their bit to nudge those offers their ways one last time by putting some mystery links out to the press. When we get to that point, you know we’re not far off.
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There have been rumours of United’s interest circulating for a couple of weeks now.
As have Chelsea but neither has made any kind of move. The fact it’s one of the transfer news stories of today is very very convenient.
Bit like that mystery interest in Fabinho from Bayern when things were stalling on his move. Just a coincidence im sure…
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I am pretty sure we would have signed Kone a while ago apart from the injury. Just my view.
I feel United are more likely to sign Caicedo than Lavia. Come on United, it’s been a while since you were last stripped.
Haven’t they just signed the Lidl version of haaland?
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Don’t think so mate, google says he’s 6ft3.
I absolutely loathe mentioning his name in the same sentence as Lavia, as they really shouldn’t be compared in terms of ability, but I am still going to mention it to make the point of what it costs for talent.
Bellingham was picked up by Dortmund for £25m as a 17 year old. At the time that was the club’s 3rd highest ever signing. For a 17 year old. It now sits in 4th place. He was sold to RM for £88m.
Sometimes it requires an unusually high outlay to pick up a talent in their teens. For Liverpool, £40m+add-ons doesn’t even make it into our top 10 so its not an astronomical figure, and given we are 3 years on from when Dortmund signed Bellingham, transfers are naturally higher than they were then as well.
I think there have been plenty of tears shed by Liverpool fans for not purchasing Bellingham when he was at Birmingham. So which one is it? Do we take a risk now for £40m+add-ons or in 3 years time when we could be looking at £100m+?
This is not to say that Lavia is the same sort of talent as Bellingham, but I think we genuinely could be looking at a much larger figure than this if he goes to a stepping stone club for 2-3 years and we then chase him. We’ll also miss 3 years of part-time playing time as well.
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The other consideration is if it’s not £50m odd spent on Lavia then who are we buying?
Andre has two years in the top division in Brazil. There’s talk there of €40m to do that deal in the summer window.
Brighton want £100m for Caicedo and are turning down offers of £80m. He’s got 45 Premier League games under his belt.
Fulham want silly money for Palhinha. He’s good at some stuff but is pretty limited as a player.
Palace want £70m for Doucoure.
Amrabat is reportedly available for £21m but is he really what we’re looking for and good enough? He’s reportedly on United’s radar and would probably be their back up to Casemiro.
I get the scepticism but ultimately we need someone. If Lavia is the right one and we have to over pay a bit then we’re kind of in a place where we’ve not got a lot of options.
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To be fair that appears to have been the fee because it was so late in the window when we made the approach - had we done so earlier instead of approaching Southampton for Lavia the price would probably have been much lower.
I’m personally not a fan of Andre from what I’ve seen. And yes its based on the fact that he struggled to make it out of the Fluminense second division and is still at the club as a 22yo.
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