Liverpool entered the 2022/23 campaign on the backs of heartbreak as they lost out on both the Champions League and Premier League on the last day of each competition. Liverpool began the season with high expectations but nothing seemed to go as planned as the club flamed out of the Champions League in the round of 16 to Real Madrid and found themselves finishing fifth in the Premier League en route to missing out on the Champions League for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.
Klopp’s club entered the transfer window with a clear emphasis on bolstering their midfield, particularly considering the confirmed departures of James Milner, Fabio Carvalho, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as well as the all-but-confirmed exit of captain, Jordan Henderson.
The club has been proactive in pursuing this objective, having already secured the signatures of two quality midfielders and surpassing the £100 million spending mark for the first time since 2018. Still, Liverpool may not be done yet, as they aim to potentially complete a midfield trio of signings, with the highly sought-after defensive midfielder Romeo Lavia being a potential addition.
Here are the latest news and transfer updates around Anfield:
Romeo Lavia
Liverpool have entered the Romeo Lavia sweepstakes in a bid to bolster their already much-improved midfield. The Southampton player has attracted strong interest from London clubs Arsenal and Chelsea, but neither appear willing to secure the services of the 19-year-old. With Arsenal spending a record transfer fee on Declan Rice and Chelsea focusing on trying to sign Moises Caicedo, Liverpool appear to be the front-runner for Lavia’s services.
A bid of £40m has been rejected by the recently-relegated club, according to Sky Sports, with the Saints placing a price tag of £50 million on the Belgian. With the acquisitions of attack-minded midfielders Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton for £35 million and recently-signed Hungarian Dominik Szoboszli for £60 million from RB Leipzig, Lavia would provide Liverpool with a defensively-minded midfielder to finalize an extremely talented group.
Cheick Doucoure
Another central midfielder that is generating interest from Liverpool is Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure. The 23-year-old midfielder joined the Eagles from French club, Lens, last season and enjoyed a superb first season in the Premier League, winning the club’s end-of-season Player of the Year award.
According to The Evening Standard, the Mali international is one of the players on the Merseyside club’s shortlist to replace Jordan Henderson and Fabinho who both look set to complete moves to Saudi Arabia. A fee in the region of £50 million is set to be required by Crystal Palace, who is also said to be attracting interest from Paris Saint-Germain.
Thiago
Earlier in the window, Thiago became a prime target of interest from Saudi Arabia, with the Spaniard reportedly rejecting a lucrative offer from a team in the Saudi League, according to reports from The Athletic.
The 32-year-old midfielder currently has one year left on his contract and intends to fulfil it at Anfield in the upcoming year. Despite this Fichajes is reporting that La Liga clubs, Real Sociedad and Sevilla, are still said to be monitoring the availability of the Spanish midfielder with Liverpool perhaps keen to cash in on the midfielder before his contract expires if they can bring in suitable replacements.
Fabinho
The Brazilian has been a lynchpin at the base of Liverpool’s midfield since his arrival from Monaco in 2018 but appears destined to leave Merseyside this window amidst Saudi interest. It appeared that a £40m deal with Al Ittihad had been all but agreed, with Fabinho left out of the squad that travelled to Germany for a summer training camp, but, according to David Ornstein, that move is now in some doubt.
Negotiations are said to be continuing between both sides, with the Saudi club still interested, but currently, Fabinho is now set to resume pre-season training with the club imminently.
Bradley Barcola
With the departure of Roberto Firmio, there may well be a vacancy in Liverpool’s forward line. Jota, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez will all contend for the two other spots alongside Mohamed Salah but the Merseyside club are also said to be looking to the future and a replacement for their Egyptian superstar.
According to journalist Jacque Talbot, that man could be French youngster Bradley Barcola. The 20-year-old, who plays for Lyon, scored five times last year and has attracted interest from Liverpool as well as Manchester City, who potentially see Barcola as a replacement for Riyad Mahrez who is set to move to Saudi Arabia.
