Liverpool dodged £50m bullet as Premier League star who's missed 71 WEEKS injured again

Liverpool had an offer accepted by Southampton to sign Romeo Lavia before Chelsea hijacked a deal for the Belgium international in the 2023 summer transfer window

Romeo Lavia limped off less than ten minutes into Chelsea 's 2-2 draw against Qarabag as the one-time Liverpool target's injury issues continue to plague his career. The midfielder has now sustained seven injuries since joining the club from Southampton just over two years ago.

Liverpool had an offer accepted by the Saints that same summer, as their director of football, Jason Wilcox, acknowledged at a fans' forum. However, in the now Manchester United executive's own words: "then Chelsea came to the table."

Liverpool then pivoted to Moises Caicedo, agreeing a deal with Brighton & Hove Albion before being beaten to another player by the west London club. Two years on, Caicedo came on as a substitute in Baku to replace his injured teammate.

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Lavia has made just 30 appearances for Chelsea. That is 83 fewer than the Ecuador international who signed for them days after his midfield partner.

He has also yet to complete the full 90 minutes in any match for the club, something he managed 14 times while at Southampton. In total, Lavia has missed 77 games for Chelsea, which equates to 502 days, or 71 weeks, or 61.8 per cent of the time since he signed.

His hamstrings have primarily been the issue, although an ankle problem was the first to affect him. Head coach Enzo Maresca believes the latest is a quad injury.

"We feel very ashamed," the Chelsea coach has said, "especially for him, because he's not able to be fit for a long, long period. We will see now, as it's too early to understand what kind of injury; hopefully, it's not a big injury."

Fortunately for the Blues, they have been able to rely on Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in his absence. Andrey Santos' integration into the team, starting alongside Lavia against Qarabag, has also helped cover in midfield.

As for Liverpool, they signed Ryan Gravenberch after missing out on the one-time Belgium international. Following an average debut season under Jurgen Klopp, Arne Slot's appointment coincided with him being named to the PFA Team of the Year and winning the Premier League Young Player of the Season award last term.

Liverpool also bolstered their midfield with Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo that same summer. The former joined Gravenberch in the Team of the Year, while Szoboszlai could well earn an inclusion this year.

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