According to one Sky Sports reporter, Liverpool will have ‘competition’ in the race to sign Romeo Lavia this month.
The Reds have seen two bids rejected by Southampton already, and it was reported following the second of those that the Saints are now confident of potentially yielding £60m from his sale amid interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.
While none of those are known to have tabled an offer just yet, the Blues have apparently been plotting to hijack LFC’s pursuit of the 19-year-old by outbidding them.
Speaking on Sky Sports News on Tuesday evening, Sheth said that the Stamford Bridge outfit could soon ‘formalise their interest’ in the shape of an official bid for Lavia, who was described as an ‘incredible‘ talent by his former Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
He explained: “Liverpool will have competition as well. Because they won’t be the only club interested in Romeo Lavia. We understand that Chelsea are very keen on Romeo Lavia. They haven’t gone all-out with the bidding process yet.
“Liverpool have made their intentions clear by bidding for Romeo Lavia. We expect at some point Chelsea to formalise their interest in Lavia by maybe going in with a bid for the Southampton midfielder.
“But it should be said that with Liverpool and Chelsea, personal terms with Lavia are not expected to be a problem with either club.”
If Mauricio Pochettino’s side are intent on signing the Southampton midfielder, it’ll be intriguing to see how much they offer.
The Saints’ response to any bid from Chelsea could give Liverpool a strong indicator as to how much they’d realistically need to put forward if they’re to sign Lavia, and whether the Reds believe the player would be worth what his club are demanding for him.
You can see Sheth’s comments below (from 27:02), via Sky Sports Premier League on YouTube: