The reputation of Liverpool in the transfer market has taken quite the battering over the last few days.
The club that once viewed as the epitome of what teams should strive to be when it comes to the way they conducted their transfer business, but such a tag could not be further from the truth at the moment.
Their pursuit of Moises Caicedo was a disaster, putting in a massive last minute bid for the Brighton midfielder. That would only result in a very public rejection, with the player having his heart set on a move to Chelsea.
This morning brought another example of Liverpool's lack of nouse in the transfer market, with the club agreeing a fee worth up to £60million to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton.
🚨 Liverpool have now had a £60m package for Romeo Lavia accepted by Southampton. As expected, things moving fast.
Lavia has always indicated he is open to a move to Anfield.
Chelsea's last bid was £55m. Should they proceed it's again going to come down to player choice... pic.twitter.com/F8Ma6lAVJB— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 14, 2023
While Lavia is an exciting prospect, the way Liverpool have handled the negotiations with his current club have been laughable.
Liverpool fans embarrassed by Romeo Lavia negotiations
Liverpool have been tracking Romeo Lavia for quite some time, submitting a number of bids for his services over the last month or so. Southampton were clear that they would not accept a fee of less than £50million for the 19-year old, a figure Jurgen Klopp's side refused to match.
All of that has changed in light of their pursuit of Caicedo, with Chelsea also rivalling them for the signature of the Belgian. The London side bid £55million for the Saints player, meaning Liverpool have now been forced to submit a bid that is £10million above the fee they refused to meet only last week.
Their supporters were stunned by how badly the club have handled the whole situation.
£60m for Roméo Lavia is huge money....let's hope we haven't burnt the bridges built between club and player in recent months with our actions of late.
— - (@JoshLFC1909) August 14, 2023
If Lavia rejects us it'll be down to the way we've acted in recent weeks.
Player has HEAVILY favoured move to LFC all summer.— - (@JoshLFC1909) August 14, 2023
Ok, panic buy might be harsh but Liverpool were seemingly reluctant to pay £50m a week ago and now they're stumping up £60m. I imagine that will include add-ons and probably a sell-on % too.
— Sam McGuire (@SamMcGuire90) August 14, 2023
It’s no secret that we are spending a lot on Lavia, but we have no choice. Damage limitation for previous weeks. What’s more important is that Lavia chooses to sign for us, that’s bigger than the fee.
— Samuel (@SamueILFC) August 14, 2023
Liverpool refused to pay £50m for Romeo Lavia a week ago, as they deemed the fee to be too high. They’ve now come to an agreement with Southampton for £60m.
The planning and execution both before and during this transfer window have been atrocious.— François Plateau (@francoisplateau) August 14, 2023
Imagine if we agree a fee for Lavia and find out he rejects us over Chelsea like Caicedo did. In truth, wouldnt be surprised given how much we have messed the lad around over the past month and not making every effort to get him
— Jay (@Jay82_LFC) August 14, 2023
Jokes aside, is this the biggest transfer blunder of the FSG era? I know we've been spoiled with some amazing business over the years, but this feels like a major misstep, and hopefully not the start of a pattern.
— Kevin Coleman (@kvn_clmn) August 14, 2023
Liverpool went from not wanting to pay for Lavia to paying £10m more, out of desperation. This club is terribly run at the moment.
From transfer decisions to negotiations and even Klopp’s tactical flaws and poor adaptation to the skillset of his new crop of players.— Motolani 'Idan' Alake (@OneMotolani) August 14, 2023
I want to sign Lavia but we have been brutal in these negotiations they wanted 50 and we low balled them and now have to pay 60. Also he does not solve our issues immediately
— Aaron Jackson (@aaronjacko) August 14, 2023
What's more, it seems that this latest bid will not even guarantee that the player will end up at Anfield.
Despite Romeo Lavia reportedly having previously been keen on a move to Liverpool, there are some suggestions that his preference is now to sign for Chelsea.
The £60million deal is embarrassing enough for Liverpool in itself, but it would be nothing short of disastrous if it was not enough to secure the defensive midfielder that they are clearly calling out for.
In short, the Merseyside club are a shadow of what they once were when it comes to getting deals over the line. That does not bode well for the major rebuild that the team is currently undergoing.
SEE ALSO: Jamie Carragher Makes Big Evan Ferguson Claim After Latest Brighton Exploits
