Arsenal look set to trump Chelsea and Liverpool after reaching a verbal agreement with Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia, according to Football Insider.
Lavia emerged as one of the best young midfielders in the Premier League last season, racking up 35 appearances and making two goal contributions for Southampton. Despite his impressive for for the Saints, they suffered relegation from the Premier League after finishing rock-bottom.
He joined Southampton last summer from Manchester City and after just one season at the St Mary’s Stadium, the midfielder has been tipped to leave this summer with several clubs interested in his signature.
Football Insider claims that Chelsea and Liverpool are among the clubs to have expressed an interest in signing the 19-year-old while Manchester United are also keeping an eye on the situation.
Liverpool are still in the market for midfielders and Lavia is on their transfer list, however, the Reds do not want to get into a bidding war with the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are working with a limited budget after failing to secure Champions League qualification, therefore they would be careful about how they spend their money on transfer targets.
Chelsea have long been linked with Lavia and the report says they have put a lot of work into the deal having held talks with the players camp last season, but have cooled their interest to focus on other deals.
Arsenal favourites
That has opened the door for Arsenal to make their move and Football Insider says the Gunners are now in pole position to sign Lavia following successful talks. It’s reported that Lavia has verbally agreed to join Arsenal if a deal can be agreed with Southampton.
The online news portal says the Saints want around £50m for the youngster and Arsenal are expected to submit a formal offer over the coming weeks.
Mikel Arteta’s main priority is to sign West Ham captain Declan Rice this summer before advancing to sign the Belgium midfielder as Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey are expected to leave the club.
It is believed that Arteta is a huge admirer of the young midfielder and wants to bring him to Emirates Stadium as he looks to bolster his squad for the 2023/24 season.
Read more: The 2 reasons why Declan Rice wants to join Arsenal over Man City are revealed – report
