Liverpool have seen a third bid for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia rejected as the Championship club hold out for £50m for the teenager.
The third offer is worth £45m, with add-ons included in that price, which remains short of the Saints’ valuation.
The Reds have been edging closer to that asking price across the three bids they have made, but are still not there and Southampton are standing firm on the fee they want.
The deal is not yet dead, with negotiations continuing as Liverpool are in real need to add a defensive midfielder to their squad after the departure of Fabinho to Saudi Arabia earlier this summer.
Chelsea retain an interest in Lavia and could still gazump Liverpool’s efforts to sign the Belgium international if the Reds cannot get a deal done.
However, the west London side are yet to make any formal bid for the Southampton star and their key target in central midfield remains Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.
Southampton’s asking price for Lavia is remarkable as they only signed him from Manchester City last year for an initial fee of £10.5m, which could rise to £14m.
The 19-year-old made 34 appearances in all competitions last season as the Saints were relegated from the Premier League.
The Championship side would not receive the full value of any sale as they agreed a 20 per cent sell-on clause with Manchester City when they bought Lavia.
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