A superstar is planning to relocate to Liverpool, despite the $74 million ‘bemusement’ that justifies.

Roméo Lavia may end up feeling the same sorrow Timo Werner experienced after passing on Liverpool in 2020 as he approaches a move to Chelsea.

Finally, the Roméo Lavia transfer drama is coming to an end, but it’s not the one Liverpool wanted.

The Southampton midfielder has since been given permission to travel for a medical, according to information that Chelsea and Southampton had reached an agreement on a move worth up to $74 million (£58 million/€68 million) on Tuesday.

Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian claims that there is much “bemusement” surrounding Liverpool’s methods in pursuing Lavia, and that the player himself was left with the impression that he was the team’s “second choice.”

Certainly, it is clear why. Over the course of a 13-day period, Liverpool submitted three bids, but none of them came close to Southampton’s $64 million (£50 million/€58 million) value, which the Championship team had upheld until it realized there was a chance for a bidding battle.

Lavia was thus left in a precarious situation as manager Russell Martin decided to leave him off the team for the next two games after starting him on the bench for the season opener against Sheffield Wednesday.

Then, as soon as Liverpool got a hint that Moisés Caicedo would be available, it was ready to drop Lavia and make a British-record offer of $140 million (£110 million/€128 million) for the Brighton player. The Reds returned after that plan failed because Caicedo honored his promise to Chelsea, but it appeared that Lavia had already burned its bridges.

As always, the salaries on offer were a major factor (The Times). However, clubs do need to make players feel valued during transfer negotiations, especially when several clubs are involved. Liverpool effectively told Lavia that he wasn’t worth $64 million, let alone $74 million. That was already a recipe for dissatisfaction before Liverpool made it obvious that Lavia would not be allowed to play.

Nevertheless, there is still a case to be made that Lavia would have been better off selecting the Reds. He appears to have committed to a long-term deputy post behind Caicedo, who has the same job but is currently the more talented actor.

The two most expensive players in Premier League history, Caicedo and Enzo Fernández, are guaranteed to start for Mauricio Pochettino’s team, but it’s difficult to imagine Lavia joining them because that midfield would be too traditional in its makeup.

Lavia was initially intended to take over as Fabinho’s short- to medium-term replacement, but once the Brazilian left, Liverpool appeared prepared to give him the starting number six position right away. No matter the timelFrom that perspective, even if he was aware that Liverpool wasn’t the main aim, it might have been the preferable choice to travel there. Lavia, like former Blues attacker Timo Werner, may come to regret his decision to sign with Chelsea.
Following his $57 million (£45 million/€53 million) transfer from RB Leipzig in 2020, Werner said, “There are some other clubs like Liverpool, they have a great team, and maybe I could fit well in some other team, but in the end I decided for Chelsea.” (via ESPN). Not just because of the football style, but also because of what they shown to me, it was the best choice I could have made.
ine, that path might not exist at Chelsea.

Werner’s Chelsea experience was an abject failure that resulted in a loan back to Leipzig last season and a permanent $32 million (£25 million/€29 million) deal earlier this summer. In West London, he will be remembered more for the goals he didn’t score than the ones he did.