Chelsea had a concrete interest in Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia, but a decision won’t be made until they realise their Premier League status.
Lavia has developed into one of the best young midfielders in the Premier League, and there’s a good chance he wouldn’t have even made a senior appearance if he wasn’t signed by Southampton.
The young midfielder was in the Manchester City academy before Southampton took a chance on him. Lavia then became a key player for Southampton, despite being just 18 years old at the time he joined.
Fabrizio Romano has now confirmed to CaughtOffside via his Substack column that Chelsea had concrete interest in Lavia last summer, but a moved failed to materialise.
Romano has claimed that Southampton won’t decide on Lavia’s future before their Premier League status is decided. You’d imagine, if Southampton were relegated from the Premier League, many of their key players will be searching for a move, including Lavia.
Whether Chelsea firm up their interest in the summer remains to be seen, but it’s certainly the profile of player they’ve been targeting since Todd Boehly bought the club.