Chelsea have made a £48m bid for Romeo Lavia, going closer to Southampton’s £50m valuation and hoping to trump Liverpool.
The last few weeks have seen the Anfield club make a series of incrementally improving offers, but they are still at least £4m off a deal.
With Mauricio Pochettino seeking to re-energise Chelsea’s midfield, he has long wanted to bring in two midfielders, and the hope is that Lavia will join Brighton’s Moises Caicedo at Stamford Bridge.
There is also a personal connection since the 18-year-old has a great relationship with Joe Shields, the recruitment executive who brought Lavia to Southampton and is now at Chelsea.
Liverpool, who travel to Chelsea in their Premier League opener on Sunday, have been frustrated in their attempts to sign the 19-year-old midfielder and have seen three bids rejected for a player who has made just 29 top-flight appearances.
After their initial two offers of £34m plus £4m and £42m were turned down, the Reds returned with a proposal worth £46m but that too was rejected by the Championship club.
Lavia joined Saints from Manchester City last summer as an 18-year-old for an initial £10.5m.
The Belgian made his international debut earlier this year when he was called up by the Red Devils for the Euro 2024 qualifier against Sweden and a friendly against Germany.
Lavia shone throughout last season, despite Saints' relegation, featuring 29 times and scoring once.
Liverpool are in the market for a midfielder after the sales of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, with Jurgen Klopp underlining the need to further protect his defence.
“That would be not a bad idea," Klopp said last month when asked about midfield reinforcements. "We know that we have to do something there, it is absolutely clear. We are obviously working on solutions.”
Chelsea have meanwhile made progress in talks to sign Caicedo but Brighton are now holding the London club to a demand of £90m basic fee.
The Blues would then have to add a further £10m to be made up in bonuses and expected clauses.
The saga has continued with little movement throughout the summer, as Chelsea have proven reluctant to go beyond £80m.
While Brighton, who rarely deviate from their initial asking price, have seen the nature of the talks revolve around pushing Chelsea to go closer to their valuation.
There has now been some breakthrough on the structure of a potential deal though, but the expectation is that the Stamford Bridge hierarchy will eventually have to go further and make a £90m-plus offer.
Chelsea are hoping to get it done before Sunday’s season opener at home to Liverpool, as Mauricio Pochettino is eager to add more energy to his midfield.
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