Chelsea making huge effort to sign ex-Manchester City midfielder ahead of Liverpool: Reports

Chelsea are reportedly pushing to snap up Liverpool target and Southampton star Romeo Lavia this summer.

Lavia, 19, has emerged as one of the best midfield talents since joining the Saints from Manchester City for an initial fee of £10.5 million last summer. He has scored a goal and contributed an assist in 33 matches so far this season.

A right-footed tireless operator blessed with pace and power, the one-cap Belgium international has attracted a lot of transfer interest from a host of Premier League outfits of late. With Southampton already relegated to the EFL Championship this campaign, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have been keeping tabs on the teenager.

According to Football Insider, Chelsea are making a big push to sign Lavia ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window. Incoming manager Mauricio Pochettino is said to be a huge fan of the Manchester City academy graduate.

The Blues are set to make a concrete move once Pochettino is announced as the club's new full-time boss. They have been in touch with the defensive midfielder for several months and are hopeful of finalizing a permanent deal.

Apart from Liverpool, Manchester City are also likely to rival the Blues for Lavia's signature ahead of the upcoming 2023-24 season. They have a buy-back clause of £45 million, but it will not be active until the summer of 2024.

Tony Cascarino compares Liverpool star to former Chelsea attacker

Former Chelsea attacker Tony Cascarino has shared his concerns about Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez, comparing him to former Blues forward Timo Werner.

In his exclusive column for The Times, he wrote:

"This is going to be a huge summer for Liverpool. Some big names will leave, they need new faces and they've got a major issue to resolve: Darwin Nunez.

"He's had the odd moment where it's clicked but with Luis Díaz and Diogo Jota back, he looks nowhere near the starting XI. Cody Gakpo is also currently ahead of him in the pecking order."

Comparing the 16-cap Uruguay international to Werner, the former Marseille striker continued:

"I hope that I'm wrong but he's reminding me of Timo Werner at Chelsea – lots of running, effort and promise but ultimately falling short in the danger areas. He needs a big, big pre-season with lots of goals for his confidence."

Nunez, who arrived from Benfica for an initial £64 million last summer, has started just 26 matches this season. He has netted 15 goals in 42 matches, averaging a goal every 158 minutes for the Jurgen Klopp-coached side so far.

Werner, on the other hand, scored just 12 goals in 44 starts across all competitions for Chelsea in his first season in England. He missed a single match through injury, averaging a goal every 319 minutes during the 2020-21 season.