The real reason Lavia didn't play for Southampton ahead of his possible arrival at Anfield

The summer transfer window has not turned out as Liverpool fans had hoped, as initially it was said that we would be one of the most active teams in terms of signing new players, however so far the Anfield board have only been able to sign two new players and less than a week to go until the Premier League kicks off, the squad is still not complete.

In that sense, Jürgen Klopp has reportedly expressed to the Reds board the need to sign midfielders and at least one defender. Everything seems to indicate that Klopp's priority is to sign Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia, for whom the Merseyside side have already made three offers, but none have reached the £50 million that the Saints are asking to let him leave and have therefore been rejected.

However, all indications are that the Anfield board will make a fourth offer, which is expected to reach the amount requested by Southampton and it would only be a matter of time before Romeo Lavia's arrival at Liverpool becomes official. One of the clearest signs for fans that the transfer is imminent is that during Southampton's first two games of the season, Lavia has not been given minutes, but now it has been Southampton's own manager who has explained the reason for Lavia's absence.

The reason

Southampton manager Russell Martin did not want to give many details about the possible departure of Romeo Lavia, although he said that "anything can happen" before the weekend. "The guys we left behind today isn't out of lack of respect for the competition or anything like that (...) I don't envisage anything changing between now and the weekend, but it's football, right, so anything can happen" he said.