According to the Independent, Manchester United are considering hijacking Liverpool’s attempts to sign Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia this summer.
Lavia is one of the most in-demand players of the summer window with the newspaper suggesting that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have all been showing a keen interest.
Liverpool have been leading the race and have already had two offers rejected by Southampton. After an opening £34m plus £4m in add-ons offer was knocked back, the Reds saw their latest bid of just below £40m also rejected.
The Independent claims that Southampton are refusing to budge on their £50m asking price and with Liverpool yet to get a deal agreed, it’s opened the door for their rivals to try and hijack their move.
The newspaper says Man Utd are now ready to try and trump Liverpool in the race to sign Lavia. Erik ten Hag is keen on bringing in another midfielder to complement the likes of Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, and Christian Eriksen.
The Red Devils have been strongly linked with Fiorentina star Sofyan Amrabat in recent weeks but ten Hag is keeping his options open and could now formalise his interest in Lavia.
Sell to buy
However, the Independent says Man Utd have to sell first before making any further additions as they’ve already spent £102m on Mason Mount and Andre Onana. The Red Devils have also agreed a deal worth £72m to sign Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta with the 20-year-old set to put pen to paper on a long-term deal.
United are working with a limited budget this summer, therefore they will have to sell to balance the books before making any more big-money additions to their squad.
If Liverpool and United fail to get a deal in place for Lavia any time soon, then it could pave the way for Arsenal or Chelsea to step-up their interest in the 19-year-old. Chelsea are desperate to sign a midfielder and are struggling to land key target Moises Caideco while Arsenal could go for Lavia if they bring in funds from player sales.
We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming days but it seems Liverpool are still the ones pushing to sign the Belgian international but they could face stiff competition if they don’t get a deal agreed soon.
Read more: Report: Man Utd lining up move for Brazilian striker after Rasmus Hojlund deal
