Liverpool’s owners have now backed themselves into a small and isolated corner after being humiliated by Chelsea in their attempts to sign Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia. A deal for the Southampton star should have been easy enough. Pay the £50million asking price early in the window and a deal gets done.
Liverpool’s owners have now backed themselves into a small and isolated corner after being humiliated by Chelsea in their attempts to sign Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia. A deal for the Southampton star should have been easy enough. Pay the £50million asking price early in the window and a deal gets done.
Then a record-shattering bid comes out of nowhere from Liverpool for Caicedo – the kind of money Liverpool had previously tried to avoid too regularly. But the uncertainty and seemingly chaotic nature of Liverpool’s transfer business over the past week has now left them licking their wounds.
Missing out on Lavia and Caicedo is yet another transfer mishap in Liverpool’s long line of errors in midfield. They were unable to convince Aurelien Tchouameni of a move 12 months ago and quickly gave up on bidding for Jude Bellingham earlier this year despite suggestions he would have considered a move to Anfield.
The excuse that Liverpool opted out of a deal for Bellingham due to the finances involved is no longer applicable given the £111m fee they offered to Brighton for Caicedo. With that kind of money available, Liverpool should be able to go after whoever they want within reason.
Time is running out, but Klopp has already indicated to the Liverpool board who he’s a big fan of. Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella has long been linked with a move to Anfield and there’s been some suggestion this summer that the Italian side would consider selling if a big offer came in.
Liverpool missed the chance to see Barella up close in 2022 when the midfielder was suspended for both Champions League last-16 ties for Inter Milan. And Klopp made it clear speaking ahead of both matches that he was a big fan of the Italian.
The Liverpool boss said: “That Barella is not able to play is not bad for us. He’s a really good player, a really good player, and I like him a lot. He has all the things you want from a midfield player: he is aggressive, he is technical, he can run for ages and all these kinds of things. That’s a top-class player.”
The 26-year-old has lived up to Klopp’s high praise since then as he was named Serie A’s best midfielder last season. Given how Liverpool’s attempts at reviving their midfield area have faltered over the past 12 months, Klopp would be well within his rights to demand the club do everything they can to bring Barella to Anfield.
Unlike the sagas involving Bellingham, Caicedo, Lavia and Tcouameni, Liverpool simply can’t take no for answer on their next target. And settling for anything other than a superstar signing now will fail to make up for the disastrous transfer sagas
Liverpool’s owners simply have no choice. It’s Barella or bust.