Former Chelsea star calls out Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia for not joining Liverpool

Arsenal legend and former Chelsea star Emmanuel Petit has claimed that Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia should have joined Liverpool this summer.

The midfield pair moved to Stamford Bridge for a combined fee of around £170 million earlier in August.

Both players were subject to heavy interest from Liverpool - particularly former Brighton star Caicedo. The Reds had a club-record bid accepted for the midfielder, but he turned down the opportunity to move to Anfield as he wanted to join Chelsea instead.

The Blues returned to Brighton with an improved offer, and sealed a British-record £115 million deal.

Meanwhile, Liverpool saw three bids rejected by Southampton for Lavia, as they did not meet the Saints' £50 million valuation.

Chelsea then swooped for the midfielder, and The Athletic reported that, by then, that the Belgian wanted to join Mauricio Pochettino's side over Liverpool.

Liverpool, therefore, missed out on the signings of both midfielders, before swooping to sign Japan international Wataru Endo from Stuttgart. The 30-year-old made his Reds debut during the 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.

Now, Petit has called out both Caicedo and Lavia for not moving to Anfield over Chelsea - while also appearing to imply his belief about why both players chose the Blues.

Emmanuel Petit slams Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia

Speaking to Bettingsites.co.uk, the Frenchman, who won the Premier League with Arsenal and the World Cup in 1998, explained: "I'm not going to say anything stupid, but we all know why they went to Chelsea.

"Sportingly, the best decision right now would be to go to Liverpool. If I am Caicedo or Lavia, I'm going to Liverpool instead of Chelsea because I can't see a clear plan for what is going on at Chelsea.

"They now have around 35 players, which is crazy! Thirty-five players? Come on. How many players do they need? It's going to be a nightmare just like what happened last season.

"When you look at Liverpool, there is one area in particular that needs to be upgraded, and that is the midfield area. Even though they signed new players in [Dominik] Szoboszlai and [Alexis] Mac Allister.

"If I was Caicedo, I would have signed for Liverpool because I would reunite with Mac Allister and I would play with less pressure because so many of their midfield players have left. For me, the answer is very easy."