West Ham United’s Michael Antonio has shared his reaction to Liverpool’s failed pursuits of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia after the pair both opted for Chelsea over the Reds.
Speaking on The Footballer’s Podcast, his BBC show with fellow Premier League striker Callum Wilson, Antonio claimed that Liverpool’s transfer dealings had been a ‘madness’.
“Do you know what’s mаd, during this thing I was like what is going on between those two,” said the West Ham man.
“Those chief execs have something!
“There is some beefing going on, it’s a madness.
“Literally, Liverpool go and it’s bid, bid, bid, bid and Chelsea step in and go ‘nah, this is my player now’ and they get him,” Antonio said on Caicedo.
“They got him because Caicedo is a massive Chelsea fan, there was a picture of him wearing a Chelsea shirt when he was younger sat with his mum and when he signed for Chelsea they recreated that, it was a beautiful moment.
“Then the Southampton midfielder, Lavia, again Liverpool £60million accepted.
“Now I’m hearing that Lavia wants to go to Chelsea as well!”
Antonio sounds just as surprised as the Liverpool staff and supporters alike. After all, it is very rare to see two key targets both opt for a direct rival in the space of a day or two.
Caicedo officially became a Chelsea player two days ago, whereas Lavia’s signing is all but confirmed simply awaiting an official announcement.
Antonio had a point, so what’s next?
Nоw that the pair are gоne, Jurgen Klоpp has just twо weeks tо find a replacement, and оver the past 48 hоurs, the rumоr mill has been churning frantically.
After being let down by Caicedo and Lavia, it was said that the Reds had inquired about the availability of Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde. Fluminense midfielder Andre Trindade was then once more linked with a move to Anfield, as he had been previously in the summer.
Liverpool’s quest for a new holding midfielder is sure to be busy over the next two weeks; only time will tell who Klopp is able to sign on transfer deadline day.