Chelsea to rival Liverpool for £50m Caicedo alternative
James Shearman
- Updated: 28 Jul 2023 06:57 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea are prepared to rival Liverpool for the transfer of Southampton's Romeo Lavia.
Liverpool have already had a £37 million bid for the midfielder rejected earlier this week.
And, according to The Athletic, they are expected to make an improved offer in the coming days.
READ: Chelsea have £80 MILLION Moises Caicedo transfer offer rejected
Whereas, Chelsea had been focused on signing Moises Caicedo from Brighton.
The Ecuador international, who missed out on a move to Stamford Bridge in January, is seen as the perfect partner for record signing Enzo Fernandez in the centre of the pitch.
But the Seagulls have turned down an offer of £80m, forcing the Blues to consider other options.
And they have landed on Lavia, journalist Ben Jacobs has reported, meaning Liverpool are now in a race for his signature.
Lavia to Chelsea
Chelsea are in desperate need of a holding midfielder to pair alongside Fernandez.
Youngsters Andrey Santos and Cesare Casadei have impressed in preseason, but it would be a lot to ask of them to start the opening game of the new Premier League campaign.
The Chelsea counter is coming. #CFC ready to move for Lavia and even prepared to table a higher offer than #LFC, having bid £50m for him a year ago. But Lavia is still sold on Liverpool. A move to Anfield remains more likely at this stage.😇 https://t.co/kF7Jt9aqqf
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) July 27, 2023
Lavia, too, is a young player, although he does have a full season of Premier League football under his belt.
He could come into the Blues' starting eleven immediately and make a positive impact, breaking up play and shielding the defence.
And, in Mauricio Pochettino, he would have a manager with a proven track record of developing talented youngsters.
