Southampton’s Romeo Lavia has been the subject of interest of Liverpool as well as Chelsea and it looks like the midfielder has finally made a decision.
Liverpool have been a £37 million bid rejected for the 19-year-old and as per Fabrizio Romano, the Anfield outfit are in the process of making an improved offer of around £42.5m plus £2.5m add-ons. This figure is very close to what the Saints have been demanding for Lavia and according to Football London, Romeo Lavia has decided to snub Chelsea.
Southampton had paid £10.5 million for the signing of the youngster from Manchester City and in just one year, the St Mary’s outfit is expected to reap a massive profit. His contract ends in the summer of 2027 so the Championship side are in no hurry to offload him but thanks to Liverpool’s desperation, the Saints are almost getting what they have been demanding from day one.
Do Chelsea still have a chance of signing Romeo Lavia or is he on his way to Liverpool?
Sky Sports journalist has been claiming that Chelsea are still keen to land the midfielder which means there’s an outside chance that the Blues might try and stage a coup.
“I would expect [Liverpool] to [bid again],” said the Sky Sports journalist. “We expect Liverpool to go in with an improved offer for Romeo Lavia from Southampton, the bid that was rejected was worth around £40 million.
“We think Southampton value the player at around £50 million, interestingly, Chelsea remain keen on Romeo Lavia. They’ve not actually made an official bid, but we’re told personal terms with Liverpool or Chelsea are not expected to be a problem, maybe both clubs are getting encouragement that this deal is still open.
“Let’s not rule Chelsea out of this just yet.”
Chelsea have been an exodus of midfielders this summer so Pochettino is desperate to bring in a new defensive midfielder but we think the new manager is more focused on signing Moises Caicedo rather than Romeo Lavia.
Lavia does not mind joining either Chelsea or Liverpool as long as he gets to play in the Premier League next season but if Liverpool are offering around £45 million then we think Southampton is going to accept it.
This figure is very close to what they are valuing Romeo Lavia so it will make little sense for Chelsea to go and price out Liverpool for a 19-year-old. Obviously, the Saints will love such a scenario but we doubt if the Blues will challenge Liverpool for the Belgium international.
The Blues have money to spend to rebuild their squad for the upcoming season and we think Pochettino will be happier if his management brings in Moises Caicedo from Brighton.
Both these midfielders have had only one good season in England so truth be told spending £50 or £100 million on either of them is going to be a gamble but apart from one good EPL season, Caicedo has also played 32 games for the Ecuador national side. Romeo Lavia, on the other hand, has played 34 games for Southampton’s senior side along with just one cap for the Belgium team.
Liverpool are a club that spends very carefully but because they have lost so many midfielders this summer Klopp has no other option but to go out and pay £45-50 million for Romeo Lavia. Chelsea, on the other hand, have brought in more than £200 million from player sales this summer so they can afford to spend big rather than get into an unnecessary transfer battle right before the 23/24 season kicks off.
