The player in question is Southampton’s Romeo Lavia.
After Southampton were relegated from the Premier League last season, Lavia’s future has been up in the air.
A whole host of top English clubs have been linked with a move for the midfielder.
One of those names was Chelsea and given the number of midfielders they lost and the lack of signings they have made this summer, they looked to be one of the favourites to land the Belgian, with Liverpool and Arsenal focused on other targets.
Now, however, Fabrizio Romano has provided a detailed update on the Lavia situation and reported that the Blues are focusing on Moises Caicedo.
“It could be a crucial few weeks ahead for Romeo Lavia. Chelsea and Manchester United are still keeping an eye on his situation, but the reality is that Chelsea are focusing on Moises Caicedo,” Romano said.
“As previously mentioned, Partey has interest from Juventus and from Saudi clubs, but as of now this is still nothing advanced. There has also been a verbal agreement for Granit Xhaka to join Bayer Leverkusen, which has been in place since May. It’s very advanced, but now it’s up to Arsenal, they will look to resolve final details of the Rice story and then decide on Xhaka and Partey.
“Liverpool are now in the race for Lavia, they are working on the deal and are having direct contacts on both the player and club side. The original plan this summer was always to sign three new midfielders after Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner left.
“Let’s see how much they can invest on the final one after already bringing in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. Lavia is on their list for sure, and Khephren Thuram remains on the list too. Now after Szoboszlai they will take their time to decide on the midfielder situation.
“They could also strengthen in defence at some point this summer, keep an eye on that because that’s also something they want to do.”
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