With Liverpool Football Club appearing to end their pursuit of the French midfielder Khephren Thuram, a new and even younger prospect seems to have caught their eye. This player is Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia.
The 19 year old from Brussels is a defensive midfielder that burst onto the Premier League scene this past season as he made 29 league appearances for the Saints. He showed a youthful tenacity in the heart of the midfield and made quite the impression.
For a teenage defensive midfielder to standout amongst a squad that would end up being relegated to the Championship, is no small feat.
The strongest transfer rumor in this early summer for the Reds had been their pursuit of another potential 6, the aforementioned Thuram. Lavia possesses some similar qualities to the Frenchman, but he is very much his own player.
While being 3 years younger, his game is a little more raw and could use some fine tuning. Lavia is not the powerhouse that Thuram is, but he still has good size on his side and can continue to grow into his 5’11 frame.
On the pitch, he is a fiery personality that plays with a ferociousness and aggression that most players his age take a few years to get comfortable with. His 9 yellow cards from last season are clear evidence of this.
Of course, if he were to arrive at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp would surely like to change this to a more controlled aggression, but as a lone pivot in front of the defense, Lavia does his best work when he is given the freedom to wreak havoc.
Most weeks his Southampton side were outmatched which meant Lavia had to do a lot of cleaning up for his teammates. Putting him into a side with the quality of this Liverpool team would certainly take the pressure off of him and allow him to grow the rest of his game.
Speaking of the rest of his game, on the ball Lavia shows tremendous promise. He has the confidence to take any player on and he routinely makes himself available to receive the ball from his teammates in dangerous situations.
Perhaps an overlooked stat in football is that of blocks. Per the numbers, this is where Lavia shines the brightest. He was in the 96th percentile among midfielders with 1.90 blocks per 90 minutes. This ability to throw his body around and get stuck in is invaluable.
Someone has to be willing to do the dirty work, and Lavia has shown he has no problem doing so. Partner this with his youthful exuberance, and he makes for a firecracker each time he steps on the field.
He does not bring an overly elite attacking element to his game, which shouldn’t be a major issue as the Reds attack seems to be in great hands with the new and recent arrivals. This is not to say that again, he cannot develop this part of his game as he grows.
As Fabinho, Liverpool’s resident No. 6, inches closer to age 30, bringing in a young raw talent like Lavia could be a better long-term option. He would not demand 35 starts in the League right away, but could instead learn from the experienced Brazilian.
While I was very keen on the club bringing in Thuram, Lavia makes for a very nice consolation prize. In a perfect world, both players would be pulling on the famed Red shirt, but the summer is long so we shall see in that regard.
Overall, Lavia is a tantalizing prospect, especially for one of the best player development managers in world football, Klopp. He should not be expected to come in and dominate from Day 1, but given the proper time to integrate and learn, he can turn his 50 million GBP valuation into double that a few years down the road.
Let’s see if Liverpool can get him into the fold sooner than later to begin that process straight away.