Romeo Lavia looks set to become the next new recruit in Chelsea’s Mauricio Pochettino transfer revolution. The Argentinian have already added Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Axel Disasi, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sanchez and Moises Caicedo this summer.
And Lavia looks set to be the next signing, with Chelsea agreeing a £58million fee with Southampton to sign the young midfielder.
Pochettino has overseen a major overhaul of the midfield at Stamford Bridge, with N’Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount all leaving the club this summer. And he may not end up there, either football.london who report that a £35m deal to sign Michael Olise from Crystal Palace has also been agreed.
Chelsea are hoping to complete a deal to sign Lavia from Saints before the weekend, so the teenager can make his debut against London rivals West Ham United on Sunday. However, they may not be able to do so.
The Blues have agreed a fee with Southampton in the region of £58million for Lavia, but the finer details have yet to be ironed out. And at a fan forum event Tuesday night, Saints director of football Jason Wilcox provided an update.
He said: “I think you know, very well know that we have a significant interest in Romeo, we had an offer that we accepted from Liverpool. Then Chelsea came to the table.
READ MORE: Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: Deal ‘confirmed’, Romeo Lavia agrees, Michael Olise close
“So we’re currently negotiating with Chelsea now so it’s a really difficult time for Romeo. But I’m confident that something will be done in the next week or so or in the next few days.”
The ‘next week’ part of this statement suggests that a deal is not imminent and means that Lavia will not make his debut against West Ham. If it goes through in the ‘next few days’, however, he could be in the squad for the London derby as Premier League rules stipulate that players must be registered by 12pm on a weekday before the game – which is Friday.