Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of Southampton midfielder Lavia, with Saints holding out for a fee that is close to

around £50m for his services

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liverpool are to make a second bid for Southampton’s Romeo Lavia as the Reds seek to wrap up a deal for the 19-year-old

midfielder.

Saints rejected a £37m move for the teenager last week as they looked to push the fee closer to £50m, but Jordan

Henderson has now completed his move to Saudi Arabia and Fabinho is on the verge of joining him in the Saudi Pro League,

freeing up more funds.

Southampton have stayed firm to their valuation as they will owe 20 per cent of any fee to Manchester City, who Lavia left

last summer. City also possess a £40m buyback clause on the midfielder, but that doesn’t come into effect until next

summer.

 

Chelsea have also been interested in the teenager, but the Belgian is believed to favour a move to Anfield, while the Blues are

still hopeful of doing a deal for the Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.

 

Lavia has featured for Saints in pre-season, but the club’s new manager Russell Martin had admitted that his head has been

turned by the possibility of a move, even though he has praised the teenager’s professionalism.

 

Having been relegated from the Premier League last summer, Saints begin life in the Championship with a trip to Sheffield

Wednesday on Friday night.

 

Klopp has admitted he needs to add a new midfielder to his squad, despite being impressed with the impact of summer

signings Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai so far this summer.

 

On Mac Allister after Sunday’s 4-0 win over Leicester, he said: “Good player. These things, it needs time. Even in the season

it’s not that you have the first game and then it’s the best game of the season – that would be really horrible if that would be

the case.

 

“So, we have to work on it and we work on that. We have a lot of options in the areas and the boys need to show up. It’s not

pressure, it’s just the situation because I think it was clear when we scored in the first half three goals but second half Cody

[Gakpo] and Dom [Szoboszlai] and Luis [Diaz] and Ben [Doak], to be honest, that was pretty special.

 

“And Harvey [Elliott] as well really showed up. James [McConnell] on the six is just a joy to watch – the boy never played

the position before we put him there and he throws his heart on the pitch to fill the role.

 

“These things are really good. Joey [Gomez] looked good today in the position. Joel [Matip] is just calm on the ball – you can

see that [with] the stepping in and that all helps.”

READ MORE:

A look at the transfer dealings away from Liverpool, with Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe reportedly close to sealing exits

from Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain

 

Harry Kane’s time in the Premier League could be coming to an end as board members of Bayern Munich are set to meet

with Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy on Monday in the hope of thrashing out a deal for the forward.

 

The 30-year-old has less than 12 months remaining on his current deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and has, as a

result, been linked with a mega-money away from the North London outfit this summer. Manchester United, Chelsea and

Real Madrid have all been linked with a move for Kane, though it now appears that the reigning Bundesliga champions are

closest to securing the signature of the England captain.

 

According to the Mail Online, Bayern’s CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and technical director Marco Neppe will meet with Levy

on Monday, with the Germans set to launch a third bid for Kane. It is believed this time the offer will be worth roughly

£75m.

 

However, It has been reported that Levy is holding out for a fee of closer to £90m despite the forward likely to leave

Tottenham on a free transfer next summer upon the expiration of his contract.

READ MORE: Darwin Nunez prediction is coming true as next Liverpool transfer moves closer

Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel, in his first pre-season with the Bavarians, has already hinted at his desire to sign a No.9

this summer. Such a request is set to take on greater importance as his side are now set to lose the service of Sadio Mane,

just 12 months after he signed from Liverpool. According to numerous reports, the Senegal international is close to sealing a

move to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

 

Back in the Premier League and Liverpool’s opponents for the opening day of the new Premier League season, Chelsea, have

agreed a deal to sign AS Monaco defender Axel Disasi.

According to various reports in the national media, the Londoners will pay a fee in the region of £38.5 million for the 25-

year-old as they look to bolster their defensive ranks having sold Kalidou Koulibaly to Al-Hilal and lost both Wesley Fofana

and Benoit Badiashile to injury in recent weeks.

 

The defender, who has been capped four times by France, has tallied over 100 appearances for AS Monaco since signing in

August 2020.

 

Staying in Ligue 1, meanwhile, and the future of Kylian Mbappe is set for another twist on Monday, with July 31 marking the

deadline for the forward to activate a two-year extension at the Parc des Prince.

 

The 24-year-old has less than 12 months left on his current deal with the Ligue 1 champions, having penned fresh terms in

May 2022. However, Paris Saint-Germain are reported to be furious with Mbappe as they believe he has already reached an

agreement with Real Madrid over a move to the Spanish captain next summer. As a result, the World Cup winner was left

out of the Parisians’ squad for their pre-season tour of Japan earlier this month.

According to RMC Sport, Mbappe has until midnight on July 31 to activate a two-year extension at the club, and f he is still

officially a PSG player by the time the clocks hit August 1, he will receive the first instalment of a ‘loyalty bonus’ worth

a reported €40 million.

 

The publication also claims that PSG are braced for another “extremely low and insulting” offer from Real Madrid, who have

a long-standing interest in Mbappe and infamously made a £171.7m offer to sign the forward on deadline day in September

2021.

Speaking in May, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelalfi urged Mbappe to sign a new contract if he wished to be part of the club’s

plans for the upcoming 2023/24 season, saying: “My position is very clear. I don’t want to repeat myself every time: if Kylian

wants to stay, we want him to stay. But he needs to sign a new contract.”