Chelsea reportedly believe they now have the edge over Liverpool in the race to sign Romeo Lavia due to Joe Shields, who helped signed the midfielder for Southampton last summer.
According to the Evening Standard, the Blues believe their director of recruitment and talent, appointed from the Saints, could play a key role in Lavia choosing Chelsea over Liverpool.
The west London side last night made a surprise £48m bid for Lavia as Liverpool continue to stall in paying Southampton’s £50m asking price for the Belgian international.
As a result, Chelsea could now be favourites to sign Lavia, with Liverpool now scrambling to make a £50m bid for the Southampton star that might secure a deal for the Belgian.
Indeed, the Reds are in a race against time with Chelsea’s interest in Lavia only growing by the hour, with the midfielder now having a big decision to make in the coming days.
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With Chelsea having Shields at the helm, though, there’s a good chance that Lavia could be swayed by a move to Stamford Bridge, even if Liverpool is clearly the better move for the youngster on paper.
Liverpool could soon be helpless in Chelsea signing Lavia
Everything that could go wrong for Liverpool seems to be happening in the past 12 hours, with Chelsea now likely the leading side to acquire Lavia’s signature this window.
The Blues have the money and the personal influence to sway Lavia over to the English capital, with Liverpool yet again taking too long to play their own game with Southampton for the midfielder.
As a result, the Reds might soon be helpless in their bids to sign Lavia, with Liverpool potentially on the verge of missing out on their main midfield target.