David Ornstein reports for The Athletic that Southampton have turned down a £37m bid for Liverpool’s Romeo Lavia, with the Saints looking to land £50m for the midfielder.
Personal terms are not expected to be an issue but there clearly still is a valuation gap between the two clubs.
Southampton have already received and turned down a £50m offer from Chelsea for Lavia, but that was last September. The situation has changed significantly since then, with the South Coast team now being relegated to the Championship.
Ornstein adds that Liverpool will return with an improved offer and although Chelsea are still in the running, the odds are high that the deal will go through. Liverpool recently took charge of Lavia, despite numerous links with other Big Six clubs.
It has been reported that Chelsea could join the pursuit of Liverpool if they fail to sign Moises Caicedo, and Arsenal and Manchester United remain on the sidelines of the deal.
In the case of Arsenal, the suggestion is that they would only enter if they sold first. With no exits imminent and Liverpool pushing to complete a deal, that makes a move unlikely.
Manchester City don’t appear to be involved, but they would earn up to 20% of the potential transfer fee through a sell clause. Lavia joined Southampton from City last summer with a £40m buyout clause in his contract.
However, this clause only applies from the summer of 2024, so this summer represents an opportunity for another club to take advantage of it.
