Chelsea have made a bid for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia, talkSPORT understands.
The offer is believed to be in the region of £48million, which is nearer to Saints’ £50m valuation than Liverpool’s most recent proposal.
Liverpool have had three bids rejected by Saints for the former Manchester City man, with their most recent offer believed to be up to £45m.
The Reds have spent much of the window negotiating with the Championship club over the price of Lavia.
Following their latest setback earlier this week, Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher called on his former club to walk away from the deal.
“This is embarrassing,” Carragher tweeted on Monday.
“Liverpool for years now have got deals done quickly with no fuss.
If you don’t think he’s worth £50m move on, if you really want him pay it.
“Also not sure why LFC aren’t in for [Moises] Caicedo, yes it’s a lot of money but Liverpool got big money for JH [Jordan Henderson] /FAB [Fabinho].”
And now they face the prospect of losing Lavia to a rival club, although Chelsea’s offer is still short of Southampton’s asking price.
The Belgium international joined the south coast club in a £14m deal from Man City last summer and is contracted at St Mary’s until the summer of 2027.
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He performed well in his debut season at Southampton but failed to help them avoid relegation from the Premier League.
This approach for Lavia suggests Chelsea may have given up hope of signing Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.
Chelsea have had offers of £70m and £80m rejected with the Seagulls understood to be after £90m for the Ecuador international.
