Former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has questioned Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo’s decisions to snub Liverpool.
The Reds had pursued both stars as Jurgen Klopp looked to further enhance his options in the middle. Lavia became subject to three bids from Liverpool, after they moved to make an addition following the departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
Their attention swiftly turned to Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Caicedo with a bid subsequently accepted by the Seagulls from Liverpool. After a three-day-long saga, Chelsea fronted the funds required by Roberto De Zerbi’s side and the Londoners brought the Ecuadorian to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea further dented Liverpool’s transfer hopes as they prised Lavia from St Mary’s. Since then, the six-time Champions League winners have moved for VfB Stuttgart midfielder Wataru Endo, welcoming him from the Bundesliga for £16.25m.
The free spending under American owner Todd Boehly has now exceeded £1bn since he took control from Roman Abramovich at Chelsea.
And the deals and decisions have left World Cup-winning Petit baffled. He said: “The numbers are crazy in football now. Sometimes it is justified, but most of the time it’s not. It’s a sign of how much you want that player and how much you’re willing to pay for them.
“It’s just a question of time. You have to play against the clock, against the pressure of missing injured players. I wasn’t shocked about the price tag, but I’m shocked that they sold so many players in the transfer market. They now have around 35 players, which is crazy.”
Outgoings have been aplenty on Merseyside this summer. Henderson and Fabinho joined the host of names departing Anfield with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain among the players who left when their contracts expired in July.
Liverpool’s interest in Caicedo came as a surprise after the midfielder attracted interest from Chelsea for a number of months.
However, Petit believes that it is obvious the motives behind both Caicedo’s and Lavia’s decision to move to London over Liverpool, describing a switch to play under Klopp as ‘the best sporting decision’.
Petit added to BettingSites.co.uk: “Caicedo signed for Chelsea when he was linked with Liverpool, just like Romeo Lavia. 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. 35 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 the club.
“For me, the answer is very easy. If you ask somebody why Caicedo and Lavia decided to go to Chelsea, the answer is just money. Money talks for the clubs and for the players.”
