As per Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have agreed a £58m deal with Southampton for Roméo Lavia.
The structure of the deal, which will be a £53m fixed fee and £5m in add-ons, has also been agreed by the two sides- and the move is now set to be completed.
After the 19-year-old rejected a move to Liverpool in favour of one to Chelsea on Monday, he will now undergo medical tests with the West London side this week.
Liverpool have held a significant interest in the 19-year-old all summer and seen multiple bids turned down by the Saints, but have been beaten to the signing by their Premier League rivals, and are understood to be aware of the midfielder’s choice.
Having signed for Southampton for around €15m from Manchester City’s academy just last year, The Blues’ move for Lavia comes following his impressive debut season in senior football- where he made 26 Premier League starts.
Despite his side suffering relegation, the Belgian international stood out from the base of midfield in these appearances and performed with a level of intelligence and awareness beyond his age. The midfielder demonstrated his ability to read the game, cover ground and regain possession, as well as his composure and accuracy on-the-ball- where he was able to consistently evade pressure and progress the ball with line-breaking carries and passes.
Lavia will make the move to Chelsea just days after they secured the signing of Moisés Caicedo (21) from Brighton for a British record £115m. The two youngsters are set to join a raft of talented midfielders already in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad, such as Enzo Fernández (22), Carney Chukwuemeka (19), Conor Gallagher (23), Andrey Santos (19), and Lesley Ugochukwu (19).
Due to this depth, the latter two players- who joined for just under €40m combined this year- are expected to depart on loan for the coming season, whilst academy graduate Gallagher has also been linked with a permanent move away from his boyhood side- who have already rejected a bid from West Ham for the England international.
Travis Levison | Get Football
