Chelsea made a £50m deadline day bid for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia.
Lavia only signed for Southampton during the summer transfer window, but after impressive performances in the first few weeks of the season, the 18-year-old has already attracted the interest of other clubs.
Despite his age, Lavia has shown immense maturity to already become a key figure in Southampton’s side, and he could have been on the move on deadline day.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea wanted to sign Lavia from Southampton and saw a £50m bid rejected.
Behind the scenes. Chelsea wanted to sign Romeo Lavia on Deadline Day with £50m verbal proposal rejected by Southampton — of course, he’s untouchable. ?? #CFC
Southampton invested £12m plus add-ons for Lavia — and Man City have £40m buy back clause. pic.twitter.com/6oo1Rre2mt
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 3, 2022
The report from Romano claims that Manchester City do have a £40m buy-back clause in his contract, so if he continues his fine form, he could return to his former club in the future.
Selling Lavia so soon after signing the midfielder would have made little sense, especially on deadline day with a lack of time to replace him.
Southampton may have not expected him to have the immediate impact that he did, and if his performances continue for the rest of the season, we could see more clubs coming in with hefty offers for the 18-year-old.