Romeo Lavia | Chelsea bound?

Rozay said:
But Lavia himself is already a PL standard player who can also rotate against smaller teams. He’s clearly good enough to play PL football, so starting him at home against Luton is not the risk it’s seemingly being implied to be. He can also come in in tough games alongside Casemiro. What has happened to us? This is how it works. This is how we develop players. There will be games Lavia can play, but also, every 90 mins he does play will also be an investment on our part in his and our future.

And I’m not sure how many better young options than Lavia we can find for sub-50m, especially anyone who is also ready to start tomorrow if Casemiro can’t. If we went and got a 19 year old for 20m, I imagine he simply won’t be as good/promising as Lavia, or if he is, then probably even less ready to deputise in the here and now. The appeal with Lavia is the combination of his potential but also current level. He’s already a good PL level player, and will improve with every week and every game here.
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That wasn't the implication, he's obviously not incapable of playing against the weaker teams in the league. However, I'm not convinced he's the guy to come in alongside Casemiro in the bigger games and make that difference right now. That's a much tougher task than standing out in a struggling Southampton team, even if Lavia has been impressive for a player of his age.

Again, it comes down to personal preference. If we're going to go big on a midfield talent, I'd rather we went big on one who is extremely comfortable on the ball and an accomplished passer. We don't have anybody with that profile in the squad as it stands. Lavia's best traits are defensive ones and if £50m is the asking price, I'd like to think we could sign somebody who enables us to become more of a possession oriented team who can mix it with the likes of City, Arsenal or even Brighton.
 
Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
Leaving you without your 1st choice #6, less than a week before the season? I think this weakens you, unless you magically have several other DMC targets up your sleeve?
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Wouldn’t really require magic, simply common sense. Of course they have alternative targets if they cannot get their first choice.
 
Andersonson said:
How much have you actually seen of this guy? He has played 29 senior games or so in his career. Did you watch Southampton instead of United or what?
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Which part of that sentence specifically have I intimated that I watch more of Southampton than I do of United?
 
zaafi said:
While he is an intriguing prospect, I'm not so sure about the "much higher ceiling than Amrabat"? Could you elaborate as to why you think so? Is it because he's 19 years old playing in a PL midfield? I don't think he's shown enough yet to be considered an absolute elite prospect. Plenty of midfielders have played in Premier League midfields from a young age, but that doesn't mean they've gone on to be great players. I think it's important to remember that his physicality is one of the reasons he gets to play, but for most young players, physique is something that comes later.
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I think Amrabat is a sensible transfer in that he seems a great fit for what we need in midfield but he's clearly a poor man's Frenkie if you want to look at it that way. Has a good skillset and does what he does effectively but not to the elite level that say a FdJ has shown in terms of passing, dribbling etc (might be confusing as Amrabat is elite in terms of volumes but I believe FdJ can execute at higher difficulty levels).

However, Lavia is a bit of a Unicorn in that he's 19 and is showing aptitude at one of the more difficult roles for younger players. The fact that clubs are willing to pay €50mn for Lavia at 19 whereas Amrabat has had a solid if unspectacular career suggests that the market agrees that Lavia has a higher ceiling (whether he reaches it or not). Lavia is already showing elite levels of press resistance (I think Amrabat is a lot more basic in this), which is really crucial for against pressing systems and his long passing is extremely good to the extent that Pythagoras in Boots account compared him to Pirlo in his analysis. It's also the potential longevity you would get for €50mn should he turn out to be really good and if he's not good enough, he's young enough to command a good fee to offset his purchase.
 
Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
Except you were never signing Bellingham, so your point is dead before it gets off the ground.
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And of course you know all about whether we are close to signing Lavia or not, don't you? :lol:

I'll leave it be, no point arguing such a silly thing anyway.
 
RobinLFC said:
And of course you know all about whether we are close to signing Lavia or not, don't you? :lol:

I'll leave it be, no point arguing such a silly thing anyway.
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Well because you've made a fool of yourself tbh. I said, *if* we were to sign Lavia, it would weaken Liverpool, taking their long-established target away from an area of need, less than a week before the beginning of the season.

You started talking about Southampton and Andre.
 
Murder on Zidane's Floor said:
Well because you've made a fool of yourself tbh. I said, *if* we were to sign Lavia, it would weaken Liverpool, taking their long-established target away from an area of need, less than a week before the beginning of the season.

You started talking about Southampton and Andre.
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Because I disagree that it would weaken us, man. Not hard to comprehend, have a nice day.
 
I didn't watch Southampton last season. Is he really worth the hype? 50million for a kid who got relegated and has one season worth of experience is... A lot.
 
RedSky said:
I didn't watch Southampton last season. Is he really worth the hype? 50million for a kid who got relegated and has one season worth of experience is... A lot.
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Personal opinion yes. But not like I've watched a ton. But of what I did I find him a very complete midfielder. Not too dissimilar to Mainoo.
 
Bojan Djordjic said:
Which part of that sentence specifically have I intimated that I watch more of Southampton than I do of United?
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Since you know his ceiling, how well he would fit in etc. What do you base this on? You compare him to other players, so one would think you've watched him a lot
 
groovyalbert said:
Mainoo is not worth 50m :lol:
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Of course not, he hasnt played anywhere near the games or shown it at senior level. I find their games similair is what I said. Press resistant, able to receive the ball in midifled under pressure, good running with the ball, good passing.
 
Are there any rumours linking him to us? For all I've read it was almost done with Liverpool.
 
SAFMUTD said:
Are there any rumours linking him to us? For all I've read it was almost done with Liverpool.
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i think its just the usual leaks that clubs do by name dropping Man Utd to pressure the buying club (Liverpool in this case) into paying more.
 
groovyalbert said:
Mainoo is not worth 50m :lol:
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If someone offered us £50m for Mainoo and accepted it, would you think "Good business" or "We shouldn't have let him go for that" if those were your only options? Not knocking you just interested because as strange as it is, he isn't currently worth that but I'd be annoyed if we sold him for that.
 
AngeloHenriquez said:
If someone offered us £50m for Mainoo and accepted it, would you think "Good business" or "We shouldn't have let him go for that" if those were your only options? Not knocking you just interested because as strange as it is, he isn't currently worth that but I'd be annoyed if we sold him for that.
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I would take it in a heartbeat. As good as he looked, he's played 3 pre-season matches and is currently injured.
 
AngeloHenriquez said:
Perhaps I'm a dreamer!
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The best ones always are, in fairness.

OverratedOpinion said:
Whilst you're not wrong, I'd find that incredibly depressing. Especially considering how we've spent down the years.
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Yeah I'd hate to lose him too as he looks a really exciting prospect, but would probably choose to sell simply on the likely outcome of how many players make it/what level they end up at.
 
AngeloHenriquez said:
If someone offered us £50m for Mainoo and accepted it, would you think "Good business" or "We shouldn't have let him go for that" if those were your only options? Not knocking you just interested because as strange as it is, he isn't currently worth that but I'd be annoyed if we sold him for that.
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I'd bite their bloody hand off for £50m!
 
AngeloHenriquez said:
If someone offered us £50m for Mainoo and accepted it, would you think "Good business" or "We shouldn't have let him go for that" if those were your only options? Not knocking you just interested because as strange as it is, he isn't currently worth that but I'd be annoyed if we sold him for that.
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Absolutely good business ? Kid is talented but hasn’t proven a thing yet.
 
tomaldinho1 said:
I'd bite their bloody hand off for £50m!
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El-Manos said:
Absolutely good business ? Kid is talented but hasn’t proven a thing yet.
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I don't think Lavia guarantee's more and Mainoo is already favored by the manager who clearly only uses youngsters if he see's something special in them so that's a huge vote of confidence and I think he can easily replicate Lavia's season last season
 
AngeloHenriquez said:
I don't think Lavia guarantee's more and Mainoo is already favored by the manager who clearly only uses youngsters if he see's something special in them so that's a huge vote of confidence and I think he can easily replicate Lavia's season last season
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I like the look of Mainoo but there's a world of difference between Lavia and him as it stands - one has a full PL season as a starter under his belt and came away with multiple CL teams bidding for him even with his team going down, the other looked decent in some pre season games.
 
tomaldinho1 said:
I like the look of Mainoo but there's a world of difference between Lavia and him as it stands - one has a full PL season as a starter under his belt and came away with multiple CL teams bidding for him even with his team going down, the other looked decent in some pre season games.
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Out of interest, who are the multiple CL teams that bid for him? Liverpool are the only club confirmed, and they're not even in CL.
 
zaafi said:
Out of interest, who are the multiple CL teams that bid for him? Liverpool are the only club confirmed, and they're not even in CL.
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This brightened my day as I forgot Pool missed out :lol:
I guess Chelsea have not officially bid but there's a lot of noise there + I have seen us linked with him although that seems unlikely given Amrabat seems almost done as soon as we sell McT or Maguire
 
All I can take from this thread is that Lavia is a promising young player who could be an understudy to Casemeiro and assume his mantle as the long term No 6 in a couple of years. He has EPL experience.

Amrabat is apparently a better player according to some on this thread, but he is not a natural No 6, has never played in the EPL, has hardly shone at Fiorentina but had a decent World Cup.

My question is: If you are so confident in Casemeiro and therefore don't need a Number 6 for a couple of season, why would you not buy the younger EPL experienced player in Lavia which would give you future solidity in a difficult position as well as weaken Liverpool who have taken far too long to get this transfer over the line.

If Lavia is as promising as some on this thread claim, his value will at least double in the next 3-4 seasons.
 
tomaldinho1 said:
This brightened my day as I forgot Pool missed out :lol:
I guess Chelsea have not officially bid but there's a lot of noise there + I have seen us linked with him although that seems unlikely given Amrabat seems almost done as soon as we sell McT or Maguire
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I'll take any opportunity I can to humiliate Liverpool :lol:

I think Chelsea might be in the race, but reckon he's their back-up if Caicedo falls through. They need to be quick or he'll be playing for Liverpool soon.
 
Green Army said:
All I can take from this thread is that Lavia is a promising young player who could be an understudy to Casemeiro and assume his mantle as the long term No 6 in a couple of years. He has EPL experience.

Amrabat is apparently a better player according to some on this thread, but he is not a natural No 6, has never played in the EPL, has hardly shone at Fiorentina but had a decent World Cup.

My question is: If you are so confident in Casemeiro and therefore don't need a Number 6 for a couple of season, why would you not buy the younger EPL experienced player in Lavia which would give you future solidity in a difficult position as well as weaken Liverpool who have taken far too long to get this transfer over the line.

If Lavia is as promising as some on this thread claim, his value will at least double in the next 3-4 seasons.
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Because it would literally block his developing trajectory? He played a full season of Premier League football, and you think he is going to come here to play 4-5 PL games and some cup appearances?

"Just buy". Funny thing that :D
 
zaafi said:
Because it would literally block his developing trajectory? He played a full season of Premier League football, and you think he is going to come here to play 4-5 PL games and some cup appearances?

"Just buy". Funny thing that :D
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United's fourth choice midfielder is not going to play 4-5 PL games though, is he. Now that Eriksen's influence is dwindling and his legs are shot, Lavia would be a rotation player in almost every game. He'd also get plenty of starting opportunities given Casemiro's disciplinary record in addition to cups.
 
RedSky said:
I didn't watch Southampton last season. Is he really worth the hype? 50million for a kid who got relegated and has one season worth of experience is... A lot.
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Caught a few of his performances for the saints and he was impressive for the duties of his role. Statistically very telling as he has some good defensive stats that's not only reflective of the league but also in Europe. His development for me has a similar feel to Camavinga when he was at Rennes, groundbreaking numbers for his age but still relatively underrated because they weren't playing on big stages. Slight difference with Camavinga is that performance against PSG which boosted his profile. Lavia is reminiscent of this in some regards (trajectory not talent) but hasn't had a moment where everyone is taking notice which is why 50M is smart business for a young player who can easily service a club 7+ years of contribution. Him and Amadou Onana were very effective throughout periods of last season and within that younger age bracket.
 
Bojan Djordjic said:
United's fourth choice midfielder is not going to play 4-5 PL games though, is he. Now that Eriksen's influence is dwindling and his legs are shot, Lavia would be a rotation player in almost every game. He'd also get plenty of starting opportunities given Casemiro's disciplinary record in addition to cups.
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Are we sure he would be the fourth choice? I reckon he'd be fifth, behind Eriksen, and I imagine Mount would be subbed off before Casemiro. Lavia offers nothing in terms of offensive contributions, so it's not likely he would come on if we are chasing goals either.

If Lavia would play nearly every game, I'm all for signing him. I just don't think that's what Ten Hag would do.
 
Redstain said:
Caught a few of his performances for the saints and he was impressive for the duties of his role. Statistically very telling as he has some good defensive stats that's not only reflective of the league but also in Europe. His development for me has a similar feel to Camavinga when he was at Rennes, groundbreaking numbers for his age but still relatively underrated because they weren't playing on big stages. Slight difference with Camavinga is that performance against PSG which boosted his profile. Lavia is reminiscent of this in some regards (trajectory not talent) but hasn't had a moment where everyone is taking notice which is why 50M is smart business for a young player who can easily service a club 7+ years of contribution. Him and Amadou Onana were very effective throughout periods of last season and within that younger age bracket.
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Camavinga did that at 16 and 17, and his numbers were actually insane. He was top percentile for both tackling and interceptions.

Lavia has slightly above average statistics when it comes to tackling and interceptions, and his passing stats are not really anything to brag about. It's his calming influence, physique and press resistance that makes him stand out for a 19 year old.

Question is if he's worth paying £50m for when we have a player with similar traits and abilities coming through. Put Mainoo in the Southampton team, and I don't think he would do a lot worse. It's easy to say he has done nothing to warrant this comparison, but there's a reason he is being incredibly hyped by Ten Hag and the coaches as an 18 year old midfielder, and his abilities are clear for everyone to see.
 
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