Why Romeo Lavia Signing Cannot Be The End Of Liverpool’s 2023 Transfer Window Rebuild

Liverpool entered the 2023 summer transfer well aware of the rebuild needed in the team, especially in the area of midfield.

But further developments and some, perhaps unexpected, departures during this transfer window, mean the recruitment work needs to continue if the club is to have a squad to challenge for the Premier League and other competitions in the 2023/24 season.

Liverpool made a good start to this transfer window—better than most—when it signed Argentine World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton & Hove Albion.

It then snapped up one of the most highly-rated young attacking midfielders in Europe when it signed Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig.

Jürgen Klopp’s side is now edging closer to completing a deal for 19-year-old midfielder Romeo Lavia from recently relegated Southampton.

The Belgian, who previously spent time in the youth academy at Manchester City, is young enough (under 22) to not count towards the club’s non-homegrown spots, and by the time he is old enough to have to be registered, he would count as homegrown anyway due to time spent at English clubs.

Lavia may not be experienced enough to walk straight into a team that wants to challenge for major honours, but that’s not to say he isn’t good enough.

Given the squad Liverpool looked to be entering the 2023/24 season with, Lavia would have been the ideal third new midfielder to develop alongside the likes of more experienced players such as Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, and Thiago Alcântara.

But since then, Henderson has left for Saudi Professional League side Al Ettifaq, and Fabinho looks set to move to the same league with Al Ittihad.

Even though Mac Allister, Szoboszlai and Lavia may have been an acceptable midfield rebuild as Liverpool entered this transfer window, the departures of Fabinho and Henderson mean Lavia’s signing should now just be the end of the start of the rebuild, rather than the end of the rebuild altogether.

The three midfielders signed so far, or rumoured to be joining in the case of Lavia, were the replacements for and upgrades on the likes of Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, and James Milner, who departed earlier in the summer and left space in the squad Liverpool could use.

Spaces Liverpool needed to fill if it was to challenge at the top of the Premier League once again.

Now further players have left—key players, and experienced players at that—Liverpool needs to go back into the transfer market for some more proven quality in this area of the park. Especially in defensive midfield.

Henderson was the club’s captain, but there are players in the team who can step up and replace him in the leadership role. There is now the opportunity, and the requirement, to improve on the quality seen from the 33-year-old in recent seasons.

Fabinho was key to Liverpool’s success in recent years, playing the difficult role as the lone defensive midfielder in the team, but his drop-off for periods last season was one of a number of reasons behind the club’s disappointing season.

It could be argued that it is the right time to replace Fabinho, and Henderson’s performances have certainly become more inconsistent in recent years, but doing everything all at once has its pitfalls.

Liverpool, however, left themselves with no other choice. The real risk was not starting this midfield rebuild more gradually in 2022, and what it is now presented with is a rebuild that cannot be put off any longer, or from the more optimistic view, an opportunity, not a risk.

Rather than be seen as complete with the signing of Lavia, Liverpool’s rebuild should merely be entering its next stage.