Chelsea have held a meeting with the representatives of Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia amid interest from Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
That’s according to Belgian reporter Sacha Tavolieri, who claims that Lavia is now the subject of ‘intense’ interest from Chelsea.
It’s stated that Chelsea ‘want to accelerate’ their move for Lavia ahead of the summer window.
A meeting has allegedly been held with Lavia’s representatives in Belgium over the last week.
This lines up with TalkSPORT‘s claim that Chelsea are ramping up their interest in signing Lavia.
Arsenal are also interested in Romeo Lavia
Chelsea are far from alone in the race for Lavia. That may well be why they are so keen to accelerate their move right now.
The Daily Mail reported earlier this month that Arsenal and Manchester United are both interested in signing Lavia.
Both clubs are in the market for midfielders this summer and have been linked with Declan Rice.
Lavia may be viewed as an alternative target this summer having shown real promise for Southampton.
Mikel Arteta’s mentor Pep Guardiola was a big fan of Lavia at Manchester City; maybe the Arsenal boss thinks he can fit in with the Gunners.
Chelsea may win this race, just like Mykhailo Mudryk
Arsenal may well be interested but it does feel like Chelsea are the clear favourites for Lavia’s signature.
Chelsea tried to sign Lavia from Southampton just weeks after he joined last summer, offering a huge deal that Southampton rejected.
Recruitment chief Joe Shields left Manchester City for Southampton and took Lavia with him last summer.
Shields has now moved on to Chelsea and it makes total sense that the Blues are now pushing for Lavia again.
Hailed as a ‘very special’ player by Jadon Sancho, Lavia has shown huge potential at just 19 and could join Enzo Fernandez in the Chelsea midfield.
The Blues beat Arsenal to the signing of Mykhailo Mudryk in January and it’s starting to feel like they could do the same with Lavia.
In other news, Newcastle told Allan Saint-Maximin ‘didn’t work hard enough’ at Nottingham Forest
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