Liverpool have reportedly had a third bid for Romeo Lavia rejected by Southampton.
Jurgen Klopp has already added midfield duo Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to his ranks for a combined £95 million this summer.
However, the German boss in dire need of further reinforcements following the departures of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner.
Meanwhile, midfield pairing Jordan Henderson and Fabinho have also packed their bags for the Saudi Pro League, joining Al Ettifaq and Al Ittihad respectively.
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Lavia has emerged as the Reds' priority target, having seen two bids rejected by Southampton already this summer.
However, Klopp isn't giving up on the 19-year-old yet and submitted a third bid worth a reported £46m on Monday, which was also turned down by Saints.
That's according to Sky Sports journalist Melissa Reddy, who tweeted: "Liverpool understood to have made an improved offer for Romeo Lavia - their third - of around £46m which was also rejected by Southampton. Talks continue."
The Championship side are standing firm in their £50m valuation of the midfielder, with Liverpool clearly reluctant to meet their asking price.
The Reds kickstart their season in less than a week's time against Chelsea and, as things stand, they have no senior defensive midfielder able to play the No. 6 role.
Meanwhile, Theo Squires of the Liverpool Echo claims 'time is running out' in the race to sign Lavia, with transfer deadline day fast approaching.
Southampton's Chief executive Phil Parsons outlined the club’s no-nonsense attitude towards selling players during an interview with BBC Radio Solent over the weekend.
“We are actually in a really good position to make sure that the finances balance out quite well,” Parsons explained.
“You do get hit substantially by being relegated.
“We can trim the squad and we can sell assets if that is what we want to do, but we won’t be selling assets on the cheap and that’s why we have stood firm on a few.”
Topics: Romeo Lavia, Liverpool, Football
Joe Adams