Chelsea agree deal to sign Lavia from Southampton - reports

LONDON : Chelsea have reached an agreement to sign Belgium midfielder Romeo Lavia from Southampton, according to media reports on Tuesday.

The BBC reported that Chelsea agreed a fee of 53 million pounds ($67.32 million) for the 19-year-old.

Lavia signed for Manchester City in 2020 but made just two appearances for the club before joining Saints in July 2022 for 10.5 million pounds.

The defensive midfielder played 34 games in all competitions for the south-coast club, scoring once but was unable to prevent Southampton's relegation from the Premier League.

Liverpool also made a bid for Lavia but missed out on the Belgian who will now join Chelsea's British record signing Moises Caicedo at Stamford Bridge.

($1 = 0.7873 pounds)