‘I’d probably walk’: Danny Murphy thinks Liverpool must not pay more than £50m for ‘incredible’ player

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Danny Murphy has suggested that he likes Romeo Lavia, but would not pay more than £50 million if he was Liverpool this summer.

Murphy was speaking on talkSPORT, after it was reported this week that the Reds have now made a second bid for the Belgian.

Romeo Lavia appears to be Liverpool’s top target as they target further reinforcements in the middle of the park. Of course, since Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai arrived, the Reds have sold Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.

Murphy reacts as Liverpool bid for Lavia

The Times reported this week that Liverpool have now made a £41 million offer for the Southampton starlet. However, the Saints are holding out for £50 million for the 19-year-old.

Murphy suggested that he is mostly a big fan of the teenager, who only arrived from Manchester City one year ago. However, he suggested that Liverpool need to be prepared to potentially look elsewhere.

“I like him. But I think there has to be a cut-off. He’s a good athletic player who’s decent on the ball. Looks comfortable, ahead of his years in many ways. But when you start going past £50 million, I’m not sure, I think that’s a fair price for the lad,” he told talkSPORT.

“Although he’s a good age, and he’s got a lot of attributes that Klopp likes; more than £50 million, I’d probably walk.”

It does appear that Southampton will be content to accept £50 million for Lavia anyway. But perhaps Murphy is concerned that they are not bringing in a more established player.

Neither Fabinho or Henderson were at their best last season. But they obviously bring huge amounts of experience. Lavia meanwhile, is at the start of his career.

The Reds have lost some real stalwarts. There is absolutely no question that Lavia has ‘incredible‘ talent. But he is not the finished article just yet.

And much may depend on what Liverpool have to spend in the rest of the window. It would be a gamble if signing Lavia eats up the rest of their remaining budget.

The two clubs are not too far away in their respective valuations. So you would think that a deal is likely to get done at some stage.

But Murphy’s reservations highlight that Lavia will have a point to prove if he heads to Anfield.