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Chelsea tried to acquire the services of Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia on the deadline day of the recently concluded summer transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Lavia, 18, joined Southampton from Manchester City for an initial £12 million fee in July this year. The Belgian penned a five-year deal at the St. Mary's Stadium before making his Premier League debut in his team's 4-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur on August 6.
A strong, tenacious presence in the heart of midfield, he scored his first goal for Southampton in a 2-1 win over Chelsea on August 30. His powerful shot from outside the box in the first half of the contest made him the first player born in 2004 to score in the Premier League.
Taking to Twitter, Romano revealed the details of the Blues' pursuit of the promising teenager. He elaborated:
"Behind the scenes. Chelsea wanted to sign Romeo Lavia on Deadline Day with £50m verbal proposal rejected by Southampton — of course, he's untouchable. Southampton invested £12m plus add-ons for Lavia — and Man City have £40m buy back clause."
After coming through the ranks of Anderlecht, Lavia joined Manchester City in the summer of 2020. He was named the 2020-21 Premier League 2 Player of the Season for his contribution to the title win. The Belgian was handed his first-team debut by Pep Guardiola in a League Cup third-round clash against Wycombe Wanderers last season.
Lavia, who suffered a hamstring injury in the Saints' clash against Chelsea, is currently out for at least six weeks. He has started five out of six Premier League matches for his new club this campaign.
Meanwhile, the Blues climbed to fifth place in the Premier League standings with a 2-1 win over West Ham United on Saturday, September 3. Thomas Tuchel's side will next face Dinamo Zagreb in their UEFA Champions League Group E opener on Tuesday, September 6.
Chelsea opt for Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria on deadline day
The Blues roped in Denis Zakaria on a season-long loan from Juventus on deadline day to address their struggling midfield.
According to Romano, the west London outfit have the option of buying the midfielder for £28 million at the end of the deal.
The Swiss joined the Old Lady from Borussia Monchengladbach for €4.5 million in January this year. He has contributed a goal and an assist in 15 matches across all competitions for the Serie A giants.
