It has been a whirlwind week for Liverpool FC. After having three bids for Roméo Lavia rejected by Southampton, the club made a shock swoop for Brighton’s Moisés Caicedo, which would have broken the British transfer record.
The weekend saw the Reds trying to get the best of Chelsea both on and off the field. The two sides played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, but it was the Blues that triumphed in the transfer market. They appear to be signing both Caicedo and Lavia for a combined fee of around £165 million, bringing their Todd Boehly-era spending to almost a billion pounds.
Having missed out on two targets since the sale of Fabinho, how will Jürgen Klopp find a solution to his lack of defensive midfielders? Will he turn his attention to other potential signings, or could Trent Alexander-Arnold find himself slotting into the ‘number 66’ position on a permanent basis?
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight Show, we spoke to experienced LFC journalist Neil Jones, to sum up the week’s events.
‘IT’S AS BAD AS IT GETS’ – Neil Jones On Caicedo And Lavia Situation
Neil said: “It does feel like Liverpool have been played. I think that’s the impression that’s been left with Liverpool – we got ‘done’ there.
“The obvious conclusion to draw is that either Brighton and/or the agent have used Liverpool to hurry up this situation with Chelsea and make sure this deal gets done, and that’s not great for Liverpool.
“Back to the drawing board – and then obviously the Lavia situation compounds the sense of disappointment and uncertainty going forward. Would Michael Edwards have got played by it?
“You are leaving yourself open to the tax that might get put on when you’re looking for other players, especially with the time running out in the window. I think Liverpool have got to prepare, brace themselves for that.
“They got to the point where they were willing to pay whatever, really, to get Lavia. They were clearly willing to go to 45, 46, probably £50 million-plus for Lavia. To do that and not get him, of course, doesn’t look good, does it?
“It hasn’t been an ideal situation all summer. It’s as bad as it gets at the moment really, isn’t it? Everyone knows they’ve got money; they have a clear need for players, and they’ve missed out on two.
“It’s a really, really big couple of weeks for Jörg Schmadtke, for Jürgen Klopp, for FSG, for everyone involved in it.
“There’s no way now that Liverpool can stick to their guns and say, ‘Right, we’re going to look for the right value. It’s got to be the right deal. It’s got to make sense.’ That leaves them in a position where they might get nobody.
“I’m fascinated to see what comes next. I’m fascinated to see it because I don’t know. I’m looking at it, I’m seeing possibilities, but I’m not seeing anything obvious. I think it’s more concepts. What comes next?”
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Redmen Reacts
What has already been a news-filled summer for Liverpool went into overdrive late last week as they attempted to ‘gazump’ Chelsea in their pursuit of Moisés Caicedo. The Ecuadorian had previously been considered to be out of reach for the Reds financially, with FSG and the transfer committee receiving criticism for refusing to pay the asking price for Roméo Lavia. The world of football now knows the LFC coffers are fuller than first thought, given that the club were willing to break the British transfer record. Unfortunately, that now means that other teams will try to exploit our desperation to sign a defensive midfielder by upping their asking price. Another gamble in the transfer market has failed.
Looking on the bright side, this at least shows some ambition from the ownership in a similar vein to the then-record signings of Alisson and Virgil van Dijk. Chelsea have once again paid through the nose for two extremely promising, but young and inexperienced players. Attention now needs to turn to how the Reds react to this double blow. Do they pursue a right-back and move Trent Alexander-Arnold into midfield permanently? The new vice-captain certainly seems to be indicating that is where he thinks his future lies.
