According to Het Nieuwsblad (via SportWitness), Chelsea have a concrete interest in signing Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia this summer.
The Belgian youngster joined the Saints from Manchester City for just £12.3 million last summer and he has been one of the stand-out performers for them.
Hence, he is already being linked with an exit and Het Nieuwsblad claim that Chelsea have a ‘concrete interest’ in landing his services at the end of the season.
Man City currently have a £40 million buy-back clause for the teenage midfielder, but that does not become active until the summer of 2024, according to Goal.
Potential
Lavia missed two months of action with a hamstring injury before the World Cup but since his comeback, he has been superb with his individual displays.
According to Sofascore, the Belgian wonderkid has completed 87% of his passes for the Saints. He has won two tackles and over four duels per appearance.
These statistics are hugely impressive, considering he has been playing for a club that has been rooted to the bottom of the table for some period of time.
Chelsea failed with an ambitious £50 million move for Lavia before last summer’s deadline and they may have to pay more if Southampton beat the drop.
The South Coast outfit will be in a strong position to negotiate if they survive in the top-flight but this should not derail Chelsea’s pursuit of the midfielder.
The owners have made it clear that they are ready to spend huge sums on emerging top-class talents and could be prepared to pay over the odds for Lavia.
Chelsea’s main rivals for the Belgian could be City. The Premier League holders could be prepared to go head-to-head to re-sign their academy graduate.
With the possibility of Ilkay Gundogan leaving at the expiry of his City contract this summer, manager Pep Guardiola could see Lavia as a potential successor.
