Arsenal are reportedly leading the race for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia due to their strong connections with his agents.
This has also previously been revealed by Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive CaughtOffside column, and now Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri has provided an update on the situation.
See below as he has tweeted about Arsenal’s strengthening pursuit for Lavia, as he describes the Gunners as running the race due to close relationships with the Belgium international’s representatives, though he adds that the player has also asked his entourage about Chelsea, whose lack of European football next season could prove to be a key issue…
?? The #SaintsFC player speaks recently about #ChelseaFC interests with his entourage & express his interest about #CFC… But the fact Blues didn’t play European Football could play against them.
— Sacha Tavolieri (@sachatavolieri) June 20, 2023
Lavia showed himself to be an outstanding young talent with his performances in the Premier League last season, and so it’s little surprise to see him attracting so much interest from top clubs this summer.
The 19-year-old surely won’t come cheap, however, with Fabrizio Romano tweeting earlier today that it could be a club-record sale for Southampton…
Understand Arsenal are advancing in talks to sign Roméo Lavia. Negotiations ongoing with Southampton and player’s camp, still no official bid ??? #AFC
Southampton hope for their record fee for U21 player.
Man Utd interested but priority is Mount; Chelsea, keeping close eye. pic.twitter.com/Emu5XpmUkH
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 20, 2023
It also looks like Arsenal’s highly ambitious summer won’t end there, with a second bid expected for West Ham captain Declan Rice, which is unrelated to the Lavia deal, according to Romano in the tweet below…
Arsenal second bid for Declan Rice will be submitted in the next hours — it was never sent last week as Arsenal remain calm, feeling that the players wants the move. ??? #AFC
Second proposal will be around £90m. Not linked to Roméo Lavia deal — no bid yet in that case. pic.twitter.com/GXt1ynle1P
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 20, 2023
Just look at how strong Arsenal’s line up next season could be if they land some of the transfer targets they’re being linked with!