According to Football Insider, Chelsea have launched a fresh move to sign Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia in the summer transfer window.
The Belgian youngster joined Southampton from Manchester City last summer, and he had a brilliant debut campaign with them in the Premier League. Despite this, the club finished rock-bottom of the league standings, and they will be playing in the Championship after 11 seasons.
Lavia is one of their prized assets and Football Insider claim that Chelsea will launch a fresh attempt to land his signature. The outlet suggest that Southampton could be willing to sell him for £45-50 million. Manchester City have a £40 million buy-back clause for Lavia, but that’s only valid in June next year.
Potential
Chelsea are eyeing two midfielders in the upcoming transfer window. Manuel Ugarte seemed close to joining them earlier this month, but Paris Saint-Germain have won the race to sign him. It appears Chelsea have now turned their attention to pursuing a summer deal for Lavia from Southampton.
The youngster was a relatively unknown player last summer, but his reputation has grown to greater heights with his consistent performances at club level. As per WhoScored, Lavia completed 86% of his passes in the top-flight last season, and also won 2.1 tackles and 4.9 duels per appearance.
The 19-year-old is not at the same level as Ugarte, but he could get to that stage soon with age on his side. He fits into Chelsea’s plans perfectly with his huge potential, but the club may need to be wary of the transfer interest from Liverpool, who are also determined to land his services.
At the moment, Jurgen Klopp’s team are focused on wrapping up a deal for Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton & Hove Albion, and Chelsea must use the opportunity to speed up negotiations and finalise an agreement with Southampton for Lavia, who could develop into an elite defensive midfielder.
