Romeo Lavia has chosen to join Chelsea over Liverpool with the 19-year-old now finalising a move to Stamford Bridge, football.london understands.
Liverpool were also seriously interested in the midfielder after they missed out on Moises Caicedo to Chelsea. The Reds, who drew 1-1 with the Blues on Sunday afternoon, saw a £60million offer accepted by Southampton for the Belgium international.
However, after serious consideration from Lavia and his entourage, they informed Chelsea on Monday afternoon that the player would prefer a move to west London rather than Merseyside. football.london has been told that Chelsea are hopeful of completing the deal to sign Lavia in the next 36 hours or so.
Liverpool saw an opportunity to outbid Chelsea for Caicedo and almost hung Lavia out to dry. When Caicedo made it clear to the Merseyside club that he wanted to join Chelsea, Liverpool then turned their attention back to the Belgian, which may not have gone down the best with his camp.
Chelsea’s co-director of recruitment and talent, Joe Shields, has been significant negotiations to sign Lavia. Shields worked at Southampton as the club’s head of senior recruitment and in that time built a strong relationship with Lavia, who he now desperately wants to bring to Stamford Bridge – and it looks like he has gotten his wish.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are considering making a move for Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, football.london understands. The Blues are on the lookout for a right winger, who can also operate as a No.10, which has seen them express interest in the likes of Rayan Cherki from Lyon and Mohammed Kudus from Ajax already this summer.
Their attention now, however, is on Olise, who wants to leave Palace before the summer transfer window closes. There is no immediate rush to get this deal over the line because the France Under-21 international remains sidelined with a hamstring injury he picked up back in June.
The 21-year-old’s entourage have been in dialogue with Chelsea over recent days about a possible move and while personal terms have not been agreed just yet, they are not thought to be an issue. Negotiating with Palace is likely to prove tougher, although there is a school of thought that the Eagles have already accepted the fact they might lose Olise, with keen interest from Manchester City, too.
In terms of outgoings, Callum Hudson-Odoi is advancing in talks with Fulham over a permanent move to Craven Cottage. This week is set to be crucial in determining the 22-year-old’s future, with less than 12 months remaining on his current contract with Chelsea.
Hudson-Odoi has already told the club of his desire to leave this summer and Chelsea are willing to grant him his wish. Fulham look set to win the race to sign the winger, despite interest from Nottingham Forest and Lazio as well.
Harvey Vale is close to joining Bristol Rovers on a season-long loan deal, football.london understands. The 19-year-old has had plenty of interest in his services this season but looks set to move to the south west club on a temporary basis.
