Liverpool transfer news, rumours, gossip and speculation including the latest on Romeo Lavia, Keito Nakamura and Gabri Veiga
The Reds’ pursuit of Romeo Lavia continues as a third proposal for the Southampton midfielder was rejected.
The 19-year-old did not appear for Southampton in their first-round Carabao Cup tie against League Two side Gillingham.
Transfers will preoccupy Jurgen Klopp this week, but his focus will be squarely on their Premier League opener against Chelsea.
After finishing their pre-season on a bright note against SV Darmstadt on Monday, Anfield looked to be in good health.
Liverpool loanee the HERO
On-loan Liverpool goalkeeper Harvey Davies proved to be the difference as Crewe Alexandra beat Sunderland in the first round of the League Cup.
Davies, who made a string of saves during the 90 minutes to keep his side in the contest, saved one of the Black Cats’ spot-kicks before Ryan Cooney scored the winning penalty for the League Two outfit.
As a result of the triumph, Crewe announced that they will reimburse all of the fans who made the midweek trip to the Stadium of Light.
Henderson opens on Liverpool departure
Speaking in an interview with BeanymanSport, Jordan Henderson opened up on the reasons behind his recent Liverpool exit:
“It’s an exciting time, the project and something different is the reason why I wanted to come here. Over the next few years, I’m sure it will grow and I want to be part of that to help it grow.
“I love football so I want to try to help it grow all over the world, I know people in Saudi love football. Hopefully we can continue growing the league over the next few years. Hopefully I can be part of that.
“It’s a totally different project, experience, which is why I wanted to come and try something completely different to what I’ve been used to for the last however many years. It’s exciting and I’m just happy to be here and try get started.
“Stevie was a big reason why I came, to work with him and play under him,” he added. “I think we’ve had some good training sessions, not many, had one game.
“We need to be ready in the next week or so for the first game – I’m sure we will be, we’ve had some good training sessions, a good result the other night so hopefully we can start things in the right direction and work together to make the team successful.”
Manchester City eye Paqueta
Manchester City are interested in signing West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta, according to Brazilian publication ge globo.
The 25-year-old joined the Hammers last summer for a club-record fee of £50m but now could be set for an exit from the Olympic Stadium less than 12 months after signing.
If he makes the move to the Etihad, Paqueta would become City’s third signing of the summer after Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol
Virgil van Dijk opens up on Jordan Henderson departure
Virgil van Dijk admits he was “sad” Jordan Henderson left Liverpool – but believes the Reds are in much better physical shape going into this season compared to the troubled preparations of last term.
Van Dijk was last week confirmed as the new Liverpool club captain in succession to Henderson, who left to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq and link up with his own predecessor in the role, Steven Gerrard.
Henderson spent the last seven of his 12 years at Anfield as skipper, and became the only captain of an English club to lift the league, European Cup, FA Cup, League Cup and Club World Cup.
And Van Dijk has said he would sign up right now if he could guarantee similar success wearing the armband.
“Obviously we won everything together, and I was very sad to see him leave, to be honest,” said the Holland international. “But that’s football, that’s life, and he has the right to do that in this case. He made that decision, but if I can be as successful as he was as a captain then I would sign (up) for that immediately…
Virgil van Dijk understands the growing concerns of Liverpool supporters
Virgil van Dijk understands the growing concerns of Liverpool supporters ahead of the new Premier League season – as he detailed the discussions being held to help solve the Reds’ ongoing defensive frailties.
Jurgen Klopp’s side begin their top-flight campaign at Chelsea on Sunday having concluded their warm-up programme with a 3-1 win against Bundesliga side SV Darmstadt at Preston on Monday.
While another demonstration of the Reds’ firepower – they netted 18 goals in five friendlies this summer – another failure to keep a clean sheet highlighted the worries about a backline that conceded 11 times during the same period.
Liverpool are without a proven defensive midfielder following the departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to Saudi Arabia and Southampton’s steadfast refusal to budge from their £50million valuation of 19-year-old Romeo Lavia.
As a consequence, a section fans have become worried at the team’s immediate prospects with transfer business having stalled following the arrival of £95m midfield duo Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szobozslai.
And asked if he understood those concerns, Van Dijk said: “Yeah, I can definitely understand it in some ways. But I’m not a very negative person, so obviously it’s not in my mind to think like that.
“But obviously when a lot of players are leaving, when your captain is leaving, your vice-captain is leaving, and at the moment there are only two incomings, and the way we have been playing – in possession really good, but defensively when you concede goals it’s not as good – I can understand some people having doubts.”
The Liverpool captain added: “But the most important thing as we’ve seen over the years is the consistency, as a group, everyone in the squad. Let’s see if more players are coming in, and then we have to be ready again for a long season. It will be very tough if we look at the teams around us, but we want to be up there again, we want to be challenging again, and the only way to do it is with the consistency that we’ve shown over the previous years, apart from last year which was very disappointing.
“We have to be confident, we should be confident and we should still be learning each and every day. We should be excited. I’m very excited, so let’s give it a go.”
Liverpool boost in Romeo Lavia pursuit
Liverpool target Romeo Lavia has been left out of the Southampton squad to face Gillingham in the Carabao Cup first round.
The Saints have rejected three Liverpool bids for the 19-year-old Belgian, most recent offer in the region of £46m, as Russell Martin’s side stands firm on their £50m valuation.
Negotiations are ongoing between the two clubs, Jurgen Klopp has been forced to act on the recent departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho. Initially, a £34m bid plus £4m in add-ons was rejected, before a second offer of £42m was rebuffed.
Reports emerged on Monday that the former Anderlecht and Manchester City prospect would not be travelling to the Priestfield Stadium.
As expected when team news arrived from Kent, Southampton were without Lavia – who was an unused substitute for their Championship opening day win over Sheffield Wednesday on Friday.
Both Che Adams and Lyanco, who have faced increasing scrutiny over their future at St Mary’s, start against the League Two outfit.
Premier League countdown ticking
SV Darmstadt spelt the end of pre-season for Liverpool and now the focus very much is on the Premier League season.
The Reds have to wait until Sunday for their campaign to get underway but we should see their preparations very soon.
