Chelsea bid for Liverpool transfer target Romeo Lavia – and it’s closest to valuation

Southampton have received a £48million bid from Chelsea for 19-year-old Belgian midfielder Romeo Lavia with the west London club looking to steal a march on Liverpool

Posted Thursday, August 10, 2023 by Dailystar.co.uk

Chelsea have reportedly submitted a £48million bid for Romeo Lavia as they look to hijack Liverpool's move for the Southampton midfielder.

Liverpool have been locked in talks with the Saints for weeks but have thus far failed to reached an agreement, with the Reds baulking at Southampton's £50m asking price.

Their latest offer of £45m was sent earlier this week, and was swiftly rejected by the Championship club. Chelsea's bid, which according to The Athletic is £48m plus add-ons, is now the closest anyone has come to meeting Southampton's valuation.

Whether the offer will be accepted remains to be seen, but if so Liverpool could facing the harrowing prospect of seeing Lavia line-up against them on Sunday when they travel to Stamford Bridge.

It comes with Chelsea also closing in on a £90m move for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.

Mauricio Pochettino's side are hoping to wrap a deal for the Ecuadorian star before the weekend, having been locked in negotiations with the Seagulls all summer.

Chelsea are long-term admirers of Lavia, but appeared to shift their focus to Caicedo and Leeds midfielder Tyler Adams, who is strongly linked with a £20m move to Stamford Bridge at the moment, though now they could end up with all three.

Missing out on Lavia would be a huge blow for Liverpool, particularly after losing both Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in the last few weeks, as well as losing out to Real Madrid in the race for Jude Bellingham earlier in the year.

Jurgen Klopp sees Lavia as the ideal replacement for Fabinho at the base of Liverpool's midfield, which is looking a little bit top heavy following attacking arrivals Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.