Summary Liverpool and Chelsea are both vying to sign Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in the transfer market. Offers have been made by both clubs. Southampton has rejected multiple bids from Liverpool for Lavia, with the latest offer being £45m. Chelsea has now submitted a £48m bid to sign him. Liverpool is also considering a move for Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, with an offer of £52m already made. Valverde would bring winning mentality and game-changing attributes to the team.
Liverpool will play Chelsea in their Premier League opener at Stamford Bridge this weekend, but the competition between the two clubs has now spilled into the transfer market this week.
The Reds are battling with the West London club to secure the signing of Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo and Southampton prospect Romeo Lavia, with offers made by Liverpool and Chelsea for both over the transfer window so far.
How much did Liverpool offer for Romeo Lavia?
Liverpool have made multiple bids for the former Manchester City youth academy graduate, however, Southampton have stood strong on their valuation of £50m and are unwilling to move on their expectations.
In their most recent bid, the Merseyside giants offered £45m to the south coast club to secure the services of Lavia, the third bid to be rejected in the last month.Read the latest Liverpool transfer news HERE…
Now Chelsea are looking to hijack the move and have reportedly submitted a £48m bid to sign Lavia, which follows Liverpool's record-breaking £111m bid for Caicedo.
It remains to be seen whether the powerbrokers at Anfield will go back in to match or bid higher for the defensive midfielder, due to their ongoing situation with Caicedo where nothing has been finalised.
Who are Liverpool's transfer targets?
There is no doubt that Liverpool are in desperate need of midfield reinforcements this summer, especially after Jordan Henderson and Fabinho unexpectedly departed earlier this month.
The Saudi Pro League pair followed Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out of the door this summer, which has left Jurgen Klopp with little depth in the centre of the pitch for the season ahead, not to mention a lack of quality and experience.
This week, Liverpool have been again linked with a move for Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde, a player who could relieve a lot of pressure on the German coach by injecting his winning mentality and game-changing attributes into the side.
Reports coming out of Spain have revealed that Liverpool made an offer of €60m (£52m) to sign the Los Blancos mainstay, however, it is claimed that Florentino Perez is only interested in offers over €80m (£69m).
Whilst Lavia is more of a defensive presence in midfield, Valverde's presence would undoubtedly make a huge impact at Anfield and could potentially eclipse what the Saints talent could offer.
The Uruguay international – branded "untouchable" by Carlo Ancelotti – is one of the most highly-rated midfielders in the top five European leagues – ranking in the top 10% of his positional peers per 90 minutes played for non-penalty goals, shots in total, progressive carries and progressive passes received, as well a ranking in the top 20% for shot-creating actions and pass completion too, as per FBref.
When comparing Valverde's output with Lavia's last season, the 25-year-old comfortably outperformed the Saints ace in a number of key midfield attributes including pass completion rate (87% v 86.2%), shot-creating actions per 90 (2.91 v 1.66), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.50 v 0.12), percentage of dribblers tackled (50% v 39.6%), successful take-ons (70.5% v 56%) and aerial duels won (73.8% v 41.2%).
With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for Liverpool to secure Valverde's services this summer as he could be incredibly influential for Liverpool in the centre of the pitch alongside Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.