Romeo Lavia transfer gives Liverpool familiar opportunity under Jurgen Klopp

In a sport laced with myths, it is one of the most enduring. But can a team really be too good to go down?

The weight of evidence suggests not, with clubs – in the Premier League at least – given a full 38 games over the course of a season to prove they can at least be 17th best and avoid dropping down a division.

Sure, there have been teams packed with strong reputations that have been relegated in the past. Stellar names such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have slipped through the trap door in the last 50 years.

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Indeed, three of the seven clubs to have won the title during the Premier League era have been relegated during the same period, some of them more than once. Leicester City were the latest as they joined Leeds United and Southampton in heading for the Championship at the end of the current campaign.

But while there was a collective failure at each club, that doesn’t necessarily equate to individuals no longer being good enough to perform in the top flight.

And Liverpool have shown in the past under Jurgen Klopp the value of snapping up such players. When Newcastle United were relegated from the Premier League in 2016, the Reds snapped up Gini Wijnaldum for £25million to bolster their midfield. The following year left-back Andy Robertson was taken from doomed Hull City in a £10m deal, while 12 months later the Reds triggered a release clause in the contract of Xherdan Shaqiri to sign the attacking midfielder for £13.75m from relegated Stoke City.

All went on to play integral roles in helping Liverpool become champions of Europe, the world and then England, with Robertson still part of a squad that last year won the FA Cup and League Cup.

Liverpool won’t be the only Premier League team scouring the Leicester, Leeds and Southampton squads in the hope of picking up a talent or two. But the specific profile of players they want to sign in the forthcoming transfer window means there are very few realistic options to pursue.

There are some, however. And chief among those is Southampton’s defensive midfielder Romeo Lavia, who is arguably the most in demand of any relegated player with Chelsea and Arsenal believed to have joined Liverpool in having an interest in the 19-year-old Belgium international.

Lavia joined Manchester City’s Academy as a 16-year-old from Anderlecht and was voted Premier League 2’s player of the season in 2021. He made two appearances for the City first team the following term, but moved to Southampton last summer for a potential £14m and made 35 appearances, scoring once. City have a buy-back clause of £40m (which would in practice be less due to a sell-on clause they also placed in the deal) but that only comes into effect next summer, meaning now is the time for Southampton to cash in.

Kyle Walker-Peters, the 26-year-old England international, can play in both full-back roles and would be unlikely to command a huge fee. Southampton skipper James Ward-Prowse is expected to leave, but at 28 is too old for consideration as Liverpool refashion their midfield.

Leicester are also poised to lose several key players, among whom Harvey Barnes would perhaps offer the greatest interest from most clubs. Liverpool, though, are well stocked for left-sided forwards, and their midfield targets would appear to preclude any move for James Maddison. Youri Tielemans has previously been considered a possible engine room option given he will be available on a free transfer, although sights have now moved elsewhere.

Leeds United, meanwhile, appear to have the fewest obvious candidates for signing from the three relegated clubs. Tyler Adams, the United States international midfielder who was sorely missed through injury during the last few months of the season, is one, so too 23-year-old attacking midfielder Luis Sinisterra, who scored against Liverpool in April.

Lavia, though, would appear the prime candidate should the Reds again look to relegated clubs for reinforcements this summer.

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