Chelsea ready for transfer battle with Arsenal over £40m player

By Milo Clay

Chelsea are reportedly stepping up their attempts to land Southampton star Romeo Lavia and with Arsenal also interested, the two clubs could be ready for another transfer battle. 

Mikel Arteta’s men have found themselves locking horns with Chelsea in the transfer market recently. 

Of course, Arsenal missed out on Mykhaylo Mudryk in January as the Blues swooped in to sign the Ukrainian winger from Shakhtar Donetsk. 

Arsenal eventually snapped up Leandro Trossard instead, which is proving to be an inspired piece of business. 

But the two clubs could find themselves competing for players once again in the near future, after they also both had bids rejected for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo in January. 

The Daily Mail reported earlier this month that Arsenal have shown an interest in Southampton’s Lavia. 

Now, Chelsea are ramping up their efforts to land the 19-year-old midfielder amid interest from Arteta’s side. 

Chelsea and Arsenal to lock horns again? 

TalkSPORT reports that Chelsea are now stepping up their attempts to land Lavia this summer. 

The Blues’ recruitment director, Joe Shields, apparently played an influential role in signing the youngster from Manchester City last summer. 

And with Southampton facing the prospect of being relegated from the Premier League, they will be forced to cash in if they go down. 

It’s been a strange coincidence that both Chelsea and Arsenal have been targeting similar players over the past couple of windows. 

Both clubs also hold a strong interest in West Ham star Declan Rice, but Arsenal seem to have the upper hand in that race at the moment. 

As for Lavia, he has been a standout performer in a struggling Southampton side this season and it’s no surprise that he is already turning some heads. 

After his switch from City last summer, Pep Guardiola’s men do have the option to re-sign him for £40 million. But it seems that Chelsea are the frontrunners for his signature at the moment. 

The Belgian midfielder would fit in well at Arsenal and at 19, he would become yet another bright talent in Arteta’s squad. 

But the Gunners do seem to be more in need of a midfielder like Rice or Caicedo, with Arteta lacking a quality option to compete with Thomas Partey for a space in his side.