One-time Liverpool transfer target Romeo Lavia received some terrible news this week. The Reds dodged a bullet here.
Chelsea announced on Wednesday that midfielder Romeo Lavia will now miss the rest of the season. The midfielder has been out since December after picking up a thigh injury against Crystal Palace.
That thigh injury has now suffered a setback and Chelsea’s medical staff have ruled Lavia out until next season.
Making things worse is the fact that the game against Palace was actually Lavia’s debut for the Blues. He’d waited months to get it, having battled an injury since last summer.
He then played just 32 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute but came away from the game with his injury. In all, then, Lavia has managed 31 touches for Chelsea this season – he won’t get any more.
LIVERPOOL DODGE ROMEO LAVIA BULLET
Lavia still has every chance to rebound from his injury problems and go on to become a brilliant player for Chelsea. They certainly won’t be ruling him a poor investment – he’s only just turned 20 this calendar year.
But Liverpool will feel they got a little lucky this summer. The Reds wanted to sign Lavia as their holding midfielder but put him off by switching their focus to Moises Caicedo.
When Caicedo chose Chelsea, Liverpool tried to switch back to pursuing Lavia – but he had now decided that Stamford Bridge was also the place for him. Thus Jurgen Klopp and co. went with Wataru Endo instead, a player at the opposite end of his career to the Belgian.
And again, perhaps we look back in 10 years and regret Liverpool missing out on Lavia. Right now, though, and for what the Reds needed this season, they’ve dodged a bullet.
Liverpool wanted to revitalise their midfield after the disaster of last season and compete for trophies again. Endo has allowed them to do that, while signing Lavia – assuming he’d have suffered the same injury problems – would have led to many of the same issues of 2022/23.
It goes to show how much luck can play a part in transfers – and that sometimes, being forced to rethink your plans can work out for the best. It certainly has for Liverpool.
