Chelsea makes £48m offer for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia ahead of Liverpool. Liverpool may lose out on Romeo Lavia after Chelsea rushed in with a £48 million bid for the Southampton midfielder on Wednesday night.
Jurgen Klopp’s side had long been considered the frontrunners to sign Lavia and was the only team rumored to be in contact with Southampton for the teenager, despite having three bids rejected.
However, the two parties have been unable to agree on a deal, with Liverpool unwilling to reach the £50 million asking price. Liverpool had a third offer for over £46 million rejected earlier this week, and there was speculation that the Reds would return with a fourth and final proposal to meet Southampton’s value.
Chelsea, who have made an official attempt to recruit the 19-year-old, have beaten them to the post. According to The Athletic, Chelsea has made a £48 million bid for Lavia, including add-ons.
It is the closest proposal Southampton has received this summer to its £50 million asking price, and negotiations are understood to be ongoing. The proposal will be terrible news for Liverpool, which may now be forced to compete with Chelsea for Lavia’s signing.
Chelsea and Liverpool are both looking to strengthen their midfields in the final few weeks of the transfer market. Chelsea had identified Moises Caicedo as their main target, but they were repeatedly turned down by Brighton.
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The south coast club is requesting £100 million, and Chelsea has yet to reach that figure. However, Lavia looks to be an addition to Caicedo rather than a replacement, with the Blues weak in central midfielders following a heavy summer of departures.
Klopp has previously mentioned that he would like to see more new signings at Liverpool with the additions of Alexis MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai. Earlier in pre-season, Klopp stated that he expected at least one signing before their season opener against Chelsea.
“We’re still three and a half weeks away from the first game of the season,” he remarked. “A few things have to happen before then, definitely in the transfer market.”
“That is now evident. And it will occur. New players must be recruited. We’ll have a great squad.”