Last summer, Liverpool pursued a defensive midfielder who could fill the void left by Jordan Henderson and Fabinho. They offered the highest fee in English history for Moises Caicedo, but he ended up joining Chelsea.
Before the move for the Ecuadorian midfielder, the Belgian midfielder Romeo Lavia, then at Southampton, was reportedly linked with Liverpool, who switched targets to the player immediately after the failed attempt to acquire Caicedo.
With reports circulating that he was feeling more inclined to play at Anfield, the 20-year-old defensive midfielder also unexpectedly decided to move to Chelsea.
It is said that his future could have been different if he had moved earlier, but the Brussels-born midfielder reflected on last summer’s transfer window, saying that a move to Liverpool was not on his mind, as had been reported in the media.
“You’ve never had my version. It’s all about what you read in the media. I had to read a couple as well and sometimes you knew more than me, apparently!”
“Listen, when I heard about Chelsea and it was from a long time ago before everything started, it was a no-brainer. Some stuff I was reading, I’m not going to say it was fake, but my decision was Chelsea. The interest from Liverpool was there but, in my head, I wanted to play for Chelsea.”
The Athletic
After missing out on two young midfielders, Liverpool changed course. They signed Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo, who had captained Stuttgart, a reinforcement that surprised supporters as they shifted their gaze from players around 20 years old to the then 30-year-old midfielder.
He struggled when he first joined the club, but gradually became an indispensable anchor for the team. Under Arne Slot, he will once again have to start from scratch with a different style of play, but he will show great adaptability and win the trust of the Dutch coach.