Last summer, Liverpool were relentlessly scouring the transfer market for new midfield targets to replace those departing in the exodus. Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho were among those headed for the exit, leaving Jurgen Klopp with an extremely thin midfield.
After the window slammed shut, the Reds had poached Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endō and Ryan Gravenberch. However, their recruitment drive wasn’t as smooth as they might have liked. Before the final four were locked in, there were countless other rumours doing the rounds and Liverpool had shown interest in other players who ended up elsewhere.
Roméo Lavia was one of Liverpool’s main focuses during the summer window. Months went by and the Reds remained firmly interested in bringing the 20-year-old star to Anfield from the recently relegated Southampton. It was a tense affair as the Saints rejected three bids made by Liverpool as they kept offering just shy of the asking price.
Southampton were looking for £50 million for Lavia, and by the Reds’ third offer, they were still only at £45 million. They then swooped out of nowhere for Brighton’s Moisés Caicedo, slapping an eye-watering £111 million on the table in attempt to hijack Chelsea’s deal. Despite their efforts, Caicedo confirmed he only wanted a move the Blues, and, reportedly frustrated by the saga, Lavia also ended up snubbing Anfield for a move down south.
Chelsea forked out a combined £173 million for the two midfielders, paying £58 million for Lavia. However, the 20-year-old’s move to Stamford Bridge has not been the dream debut season he had hoped for.
After missing the first 16 Premier League games due to injury and fitness issues, the Belgian was named as a substitute on Christmas Eve, before finally making his debut three days later off the bench.
Lavia suffered an injury during that match and has been out of action since. Chelsea have now released a statement confirming that the setback will take him beyond the end of the season and he will not feature again this term.
“Midfielder Roméo Lavia is to unfortunately miss the remainder of our 2023-24 campaign following a setback in his recovery,” the club wrote. “Recent medical assessments have confirmed that Lavia, who sustained a significant thigh injury against Crystal Palace back in December, will not feature again this season.”
Lavia’s 2023/24 season and debut campaign with Chelsea ends after playing just 32 minutes of football.
