Romeo Lavia is set to undergo his medical with Chelsea this week after the Blues agreed a £60m deal with Southampton for the 19-year-old, according to renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Romano claims that the Belgium U-21 international agreed to join the West Londoners on Monday. After intense negotiations between the two clubs, Chelsea finally reached an agreement to pay around £60m including add-ons for the midfielder.
Manchester City are entitled to receive 20 percent of the profit made from the sale due to a sell-on clause inserted in his contract when he left the Etihad Stadium to join Southampton last summer.
The defending Premier League champions also had a buy-back clause inserted in his deal which could have been activated next summer but his move to Stamford Bridge means the clause cannot be triggered.
Lavia racked up 34 appearances and made two goal contributions for Southampton last season, however, the club suffered relegation from the Premier League. He made it clear to the club that he wanted to leave and the young midfielder is yet to feature for the Saints this season after missing all three games so far.
Hijack Liverpool’s move
Chelsea have beaten Liverpool yet again to another summer signing after confirming the capture of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo for a £100m fee that could rise to a British club record of £115m on Monday.
The Reds had agreed a £111m deal for the 21-year-old last Friday but Caicedo’s preference was Chelsea and turned down a move to Anfield.
Liverpool had multiple bids rejected by Southampton for Lavia before agreeing a £60m deal with the Saints but just like Caicedo, Lavia also preferred a move to London instead of Merseyside as Jurgen Klopp was dealt a double transfer blow.
Mauricio Pochettino needs to reinforce his midfield after the sale of several players including N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek earlier in the summer.
The Blues are now on the verge of wrapping up another big-money deal with Lavia set to undergo his medical in London ‘this week’ ahead of his move to Stamford Bridge, according to Romano.
Chelsea have been one of the busiest sides in the transfer market and are expected to make further additions before the window closes.
Read more: Report: Chelsea reach ‘agreement in principle’ to sign £34m Frenchman
