Liverpool are ready to try and hijack Chelsea’s proposed move for Romeo Lavia by matching their £55m bid for the Southampton midfielder, according to talkSPORT.
Lavia is expected to leave Southampton following their relegation last season and he’s been at the centre of a battle between Chelsea and Liverpool this summer with the Premier League giants vying for his signature.
The Reds have been heavily linked with a move for the 19-year-old as Jurgen Klopp looks to bring in a defensive midfielder following the exit of Fabinbo and Jordan Henderson.
Liverpool saw several bids for the Belgian U21 international worth up to £45m rejected by the Saints. Failure to agree a deal with Southampton opened the door for Chelsea to make their move and they were in advanced talks to secure a deal late last week.
talkSPORT claims that the Blues have submitted a £55m offer – more than the £50m Southampton have been demanding this summer – and are now looking to wrap-up a deal to take Lavia to West London.
Late bid
However, the report says Liverpool haven’t given up and are ready to match Chelsea’s £55m offer as they desperately try to prevent missing out on a second key target to the Blues.
Chelsea hijacked Liverpool’s move for Moises Caicedo over the weekend after agreeing a British record fee of £115m to sign the Brighton midfielder. Caicedo is set to undergo his medical in London today.
Despite agreeing a deal to sign the South American, Chelsea want to add at least one more midfielder to their squad following the exit of several players including Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Mauricio Pochettino is now hoping to bring in Lavia as well as Caicedo, but it looks like Liverpool are determined not to miss out on both their targets and will do all they can to take the Southampton youngster to Anfield.
Lavia was one of the best performers for Southampton last season despite suffering relegation from the Premier League. The young midfielder featured in 34 games and made two goal contributions across all competitions.
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