Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Liverpool have made contact over a deal for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia.
The 19-year-old midfielder has impressed since leaving Manchester City for Southampton last summer. He made 34 appearances in all competitions last season for the Saints, scoring once, but was unable to prevent them from being relegated from the Premier League.
Nevertheless, his solid individual performances have attracted the attention of several top English sides.
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Arsenal have strong interest in the Belgium international, while Chelsea reportedly had a £50m bid for the midfielder rejected last summer. City, meanwhile, have a £40m buy-back clause in their deal with Southampton - but this will only become active in the summer of 2024.
Transfer expert Romano claims Liverpool have now made contact with the Saints over a deal for Lavia, with their bitter rivals Manchester United also interested.
"Understand Liverpool asked conditions of Romeo Lavia deal, they're in the race," tweeted Romano. "Arsenal, working on this deal for 15 days - no official bid from both clubs yet. Man Utd and Chelsea, monitoring the situation but not in active talks yet."
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City could make millions from Lavia transfer
City are set to profit financially if Lavia signs for another club this summer.
That's because the Manchester club inserted a sell-on clause into their deal with Southampton, in addition to the buy-back clause that becomes active in 2024.
According to Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News, the clause represents a total of 20 per cent of any sale. With Southampton said to value the midfielder at £50m, City would therefore receive £10m if any sale is completed for that figure.
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Meanwhile, talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook says Lavia will 'push' for a move if a major club makes a bid for him this summer.
"I'm told he was really keen to move on in January," said Crook, via GiveMeSport.
"It's been suggested that maybe he might wait and see what Man City do because they've got that buy-back option. I'm not sure about that. I think if he can get a Premier League club and a big one this summer, then he'll push for it."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Romeo Lavia, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Football, Premier League, Transfers