Chelsea are reportedly stepping up their interest in a potential transfer deal for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia.
The Saints want to keep hold of Lavia despite being relegated to the Championship, and will insist on around £50million for him, according to The Athletic.
Still, it seems Chelsea are serious about trying to sign the Belgian wonderkid, who looked hugely impressive in the Premier League in the season just gone.
Lavia joined Southampton from Manchester City, and the treble winners have a buy-back clause that becomes active next summer, so it makes sense that Chelsea might want to move fast on this one.
The 19-year-old certainly looks like he could be a fine fit at Stamford Bridge, continuing the club’s recent strategy of signing some of Europe’s top young players.
CFC invested big money on prospects like Enzo Fernandez, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Noni Madueke, and Lavia could be another player to lay the foundations for a bright future at the club.
£50m is a lot to pay for someone relatively unproven, however, so it will be interesting to see if Chelsea really push ahead with this deal over other possibilities.
The Athletic also note that Brighton’s Moises Caicedo is on Chelsea’s radar, though he’d be more expensive, but at least has the benefit of being a bit older and more experienced.