When Southampton turned down Liverpool’s most recent offer for Romeo Lavia, it was the third time being unfortunate.

Following earlier bids of £34 million plus £4 million in add-ons and a total package of £42 million, the Reds’ most recent offer was for an overall sum of £46 million. Three of them were still below the Saints’ £50 million asking price. Although talks between the two clubs are still underway, the transfer drama has grown unwelcomely drawn out.

After all, Liverpool remain without a senior holding midfielder, following the unexpected departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia. With the start of the Reds’ Premier League season just four days away, the dragged out nature of negotiations is a hot topic.

“This is embarrassing,” club legend Jamie Carragher fumed on Twitter following his old side’s latest rejected offer. “Liverpool for years now have got deals done quickly with no fuss.

“If you don’t think he’s worth 50m move on, if you really want him, pay it. Also not sure why LFC aren’t in for Caicedo, yes it’s a lot of money but Liverpool got big money for JH/FAB [Jordan Henderson/Fabinho].”

Carragher may have a point, but it may not be that straightforward.

It is unknown how much of the initial sum would be paid upfront and how feasible the accompanying add-ons genuinely were, despite the fact that Liverpool has increased their offer by £4 million each time and is still £4 million shy of the asking amount. Obviously, the finer points and organization of such an offer decide how desirable it would be to Southampton.

The Reds had looked into Lavia as a potential long-term successor before Fabinho left, but the £50m asking price turned them down. However, since they lost their holding midfielder to Al-Ittihad, pursuing the Belgian became more crucial.

Liverpool’s reluctance to fork out £50 million for the 19-year-old, however, makes sense. A price of this scale would make him the sixth most expensive player in their history, despite the fact that he is still a teenager and has only made 29 appearances in the top league.

The managers of the Reds appreciate it when their expensive additions have between 150 and 200 senior games under their belts before joining the team.

However, the transfer season is currently a seller’s market due to the soaring midfielder costs and the scarcity of high-caliber holding options. Due to Saudi Arabia’s influence and the fact that Declan Rice and Enzo Fernandez were sold for more than £100 million, prices have increased globally.

Meanwhile, despite Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League, they are under no pressure to sell Lavia for less than their asking price.

“We are looking at all options, but let’s be realistic,” Saints chief executive Phil Parsons told BBC Radio Solent Sport last week.

“We’ve got 30-plus players and we don’t need 30-plus players. We’re actually in a position to make sure the finances balance out quite well and you do get hit substantially being relegated.

“We can trim the squad, we can sell assets if we want to. We won’t be selling assets on the cheap. And that’s why we stood firm on a few.

“We will develop a lot of players over the coming years and there will be players who gone on to join top-four clubs but we won’t be doing it at a cheap rate, we will be doing it at the going rate. If clubs want to place offers with us, we will look at them. We won’t be saying just yes to any offer through the door.

“Southampton is a great club and if you do well for Southampton and deserve a move, maybe we’ll look at it but let’s focus on Southampton first and doing well and then we’ll talk about other clubs second.”