Arsenal 'reach verbal agreement' with £50m transfer target

Tom Weber

• 23 Jun 2023 17:20 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal have reached a 'verbal agreement' with Southampton's Romeo Lavia, according to a report.

The Gunners are in for a midfield rebuild this summer with the likes of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka candidates to depart the Emirates. The former has been linked with a big-money move to Saudi Arabia and Juventus, while the latter is returning to Germany where he starred before his north London adventure.

This leaves Mikel Arteta and company with some big holes to fill and they are keen to add quality in those positions. West Ham captain Declan Rice has been the subject of intense interest from Arsenal, but the Gunners saw their initial offer rebuffed, which has given the two Manchester giants fresh hope of potentially swooping in.

In the meantime, however, it seems that they have also been working on another deal behind the scenes.

READ: Arsenal have ‘CRUCIAL’ advantage for Rice, Romano claims

Lavia to the Emirates

According to Football Insider, Southampton star Romeo Lavia has 'verbally agreed to sign' for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta is said to be a huge admirer of the Belgian youngster and he could be had for a fee of around £50 million (€58m), claims the report.

Most of the Premier League's top clubs have been eyeing the 19-year-old because of his standout performances for the relegated Saints, but if this report is to be believed, Arsenal are set to beat out competition from Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City, whose buy-back caluse for the midfielder would have come into effect next summer.

READ: Romano sends Man Utd warning as Arsenal set to ‘PUSH’ for transfer

Despite the agreement, Arsenal are not expected to pursue concrete negotiations until July as they are still trying to engineer a deal for priority target Declan Rice, while completing the Kai Havertz deal also remains high on the agenda.

Southampton are in for a rough summer as most of their talented players are expected to get picked off by bigger sides. Lavia could be joined by the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Will Smallbone and others in heading for the exit.