There has been a lot of exciting transfer news regarding Arsenal, with the highest being the club finally reaching an agreement with West Ham for the services of their prized asset Declan Rice, but the signing of Kai Havertz and the imminent arrival of Rice was to see Granit Xhaka finally make his long-awaited departure to Bayer Leverkusen and Thomas Partey potentially leaving to Saudi Arabia.
This led the ITK journos publish articles that Arsenal had identified Southampton’s starlet, Romeo Lavia, as a potential replacement for Partey, should the Ghanaian make the big-money move to the Kingdom. The youngster was snatched from the Anderlecht Youth Academy by Manchester City at the age of 16, excelling in their Under-18s squad and at 17, he was drafted to the Manchester City Reserves squad, featuring consistently in the Premier League 2. Just like in the Premier League, Manchester City has been dominant in Premier League 2 winning the last three seasons, with Lavia winning the Player of the Season award in 2021.
Last season, Manchester City sold Lavia to Southampton, and he became a mainstay in the first team despite being at the young age of 19. With Southampton relegated, it is expected that a player as exceptional at Lavia wasn’t going to remain on their ranks and in all honesty, I was excited when he was linked with a move to Arsenal, he plays like a hybrid of Fernandinho and Sergio Busquets, which would suit our game just fine.
Yes, he might cost a fortune due to his age and vast amount of potential, but I believe he’s worth the punt. However, it feels that Arsenal can only make a move for him if Partey actually leaves, and that’s speculative at best.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have emerged as the latest team to have some genuine interest in Lavia, and knowing those scousers, they don’t waste time when it comes to transfers. There was a crater in their midfield when the club parted ways with James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita. And when you think of the fact that Thiago Alcantara is always injured, Arthur Melo has been shipped back to Juventus and Jordon Henderson is getting to the twilight of his career, Fabinho is pretty much the only recognizable midfielder they have.
Which is why the club has invested in Alexis MacAllister from Brighton and Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig. Southampton will be hoping to get £50 million for their star, but it will be interest to see how genuine Arsenal’s interest in the lad is with these updates.
Sayonara.
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