By Gabriel Agbonlahor

8th Aug, 2023 | 3:10pm

Liverpool have 'committed a crime' as new Romeo Lavia details emerge - Agbonlahor

Liverpool must sign a midfielder before the transfer window closes or risk being left short in the middle of the park.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed that the Reds need to replace Jordan Henderson and Fabinho after their departures.

According to the Echo (7 August) Liverpool had a third bid rejected for Romeo Lavia as Southampton continue to play hardball over the 19-year-old midfielder, as the Reds submitted an offer of around £46million for the Belgium international, which was instantly rejected by the Championship side.

On 28 July, Football Insider revealed that the Blues were plotting to hijack the Merseysiders’ pursuit of the Saints star after hitting a stumbling block in talks for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.

With a potential deal on the cards, Agbonlahor believes that Liverpool are already short in the middle of the park.

“They’re definitely left short,” he told Football Insider.

“They committed a crime, the amount of money they’ve got for Fabinho at £40million as he has been very poor for 18 months.

“Some of the games I watched last season, it was a disgrace – he looked like he was running with weights on his legs, he couldn’t get back.

“It’s ok being good on the ball, but this day and age you have also got to be able to get the ball back and this is the type of midfielder that Liverpool need.“

“Yes, they brought in a couple of midfielders but a proper rock solid sitter is what they’re crying out for.

 “Otherwise they’re gonna be conceding a lot of goals and look at preseason, they had already conceded four against Bayern Munich. The problems are still there, you know, maybe not enough protection for the back four.”

In other news, Kylian Mbappe is ‘huge’ Liverpool admirer as sponsors ready to pay up for ‘sensational’ deal