Chelsea have submitted a £48m bid for the 19-year-old midfielder, which remains short of Southampton’s asking price
Chelsea have submitted £48m bid for Romeo Lavia
Chelsea has submitted a £48 million proposal for Romeo Lavia, approaching Southampton’s £50 million valuation and attempting to outbid Liverpool. Chelsea have submitted £48m bid for Romeo Lavia
The Anfield club has made a succession of gradually better proposals in recent weeks, but they are still at least £4 million short of a deal.
Mauricio Pochettino has long sought to bring in two midfielders to re-energize Chelsea’s midfield, and the hope is that Lavia would join Brighton’s Moises Caicedo at Stamford Bridge.
There is also a personal connection because the 18-year-old is close to Joe Shields, the recruitment executive who brought Lavia to Southampton and is now at Chelsea.
Liverpool, who face Chelsea in their Premier League opener on Sunday, have been frustrated in their attempts to sign the 19-year-old midfielder, with three bids rejected for a player who has made only 29 appearances in the top league.
After their original two bids of £34m + £4m and £42m were turned down, the Reds countered with a bid of £46m, which was also rejected by the Championship club.
Lavia joined Saints from Manchester City last summer as an 18-year-old for an initial £10.5m.
The Belgian made his international debut earlier this year when he was called up by the Red Devils for the Euro 2024 qualifier against Sweden and a friendly against Germany.
Lavia shone throughout last season, despite Saints’ relegation, featuring 29 times and scoring once.
Liverpool are looking for a midfielder after selling Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, with Jurgen Klopp emphasizing the need to strengthen his defence.
“That would not be a bad idea,” Klopp stated last month when asked about adding midfielders. “It is crystal clear that we need to do something there.” Obviously, we are working on solutions.”
Chelsea have made progress in talks to sign Caicedo, but Brighton are now demanding a base fee of £90 million from the London club.
The Blues would then have to pay an additional £10 million in bonuses and anticipated clauses.
Throughout the summer, there has been little movement in the issue, as Chelsea has been unwilling to go above £80 million.
While Brighton has rarely deviated from their initial asking price, the essence of the conversations has revolved around pressuring Chelsea to go closer to their value.
