However, the 19-year-old remains inexperienced and boasts only 36 senior appearances under his belt. The Belgian did impress for the Saints last season, despite being part of a side that suffered relegation. Lavia is another name known to be of interest to Liverpool, even before Fabinho was subject of Saudi Arabian interest, though the Reds have so far been put off by Southampton’s reported £50m asking price. Regardless, Bayern’s stance would need to change for a transfer to become possible. Admittedly, the Reds’ new formation as part of a deeper midfield pair could suit him, in contrast to Fabinho’s previous sole holding role, while the Brazil international's expected exit would grant the Dutchman the game-time he so craves were he to move to Anfield.īut not boasting any Premier League experience, it would still be a bold move to recruit Gravenberch as Fabinho’s direct replacement - especially off the back of a poor season in Munich where he started five times in the Bundesliga and Champions League. So far, Bayern have shown no desire to sell Gravenberch, having only signed him from Ajax last summer, while he has predominantly been more of a number eight rather than a number six throughout his career.

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Liverpool have an ideal Fabinho replacement and it's not Romeo Lavia.

While the 21-year-old was reported to be open to the move at the time, he has since vocalised his preference to stay in Bavaria. Gravenberch has long-been reported to be a Reds target, with Liverpool believed to have met with his agent and other representatives on more than one occasion this year.

Besides, the midfielder himself has admitted he has no desire to leave the Etihad this summer. Set to turn 28 in December, he would hardly be a long-term option with it debatable whether City would even consider selling to title rivals Liverpool in the first place. Making 21 appearances in all competitions, he was limited to just two Premier League starts as he struggled for form and battled injury. With regards to Phillips, he endured a miserable individual season for City despite Pep Guardiola’s men winning the treble.

Some supporters were admittedly a little underwhelmed by such a list, with a deal for any of the quintet potentially problematic as things stand. While Kopites could fantasise about Moises Caicedo of Brighton & Hove Albion and Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni, following previous interest, the former is expected to join Chelsea while the latter wants to stay at the Bernabeu.įollowing confirmation that Fabinho hadn’t travelled to Germany, a number of names were reported to be on the Reds’ radar as potential replacements: Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips, Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch, Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, Fulham’s Joao Palhinha, and Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat. READ MORE: Luis Suarez has hinted at £40m transfer trouble on horizon for LiverpoolĪdmittedly there are a shortage of leading holding midfielders currently available on the market, with the number of elite players in the position arguably limited. READ MORE: Fabinho and six senior Liverpool stars could still leave after transfer bombshells Consequently, Liverpool face a headache when it comes to replacing the midfielder.

While no deal is agreed yet, an exit looks likely. Once a bid believed to be in the region of £40m was submitted, the decision was taken to leave the midfielder out of the Reds’ 32-man travelling squad for a 10-day training camp in Germany. While Liverpool are in the market for his long-term replacement, the 29-year-old remained their senior defensive midfield option.īut then interest from Saudi Arabia emerged, with Fabinho reportedly already agreeing personal terms with Al Ittihad. Fabinho might have endured a particularly poor season last time out, but his expected departure to Al Ittihad has understandably prompted panic in the Liverpool fan-base.Īfter all, having seen his form pick up in the final weeks of the campaign following the Reds’ switch to a 3-2-2-3 formation, the Brazilian was still expected to be first-choice for Jurgen Klopp’s side in 2023-24.

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