Ben Jacobs says Chelsea’s counter offer for Liverpool target ‘is coming’

Chelsea to make a bid higher than what Liverpool did for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia

As per a Twitter (or X) thread from Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports, Chelsea are preparing a transfer hijack by making a bid higher than what Liverpool did for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia.

A couple of days ago, Liverpool saw their £37m bid rejected by Saints for the Belgian international. The Championship side want something in the region of £50m and they are adamant about it.

Chelsea, who had a £50m bid for the 19-year-old rejected last summer, are looking to table an offer greater than Liverpool’s to perform this transfer hijack. After all that though, there is an overriding feeling that the player would move to Anfield because his heart is set there now.

In parallel news, the Athletic (subscription required) has updated us that Brighton have rejected another bid by the Blues for Moises Caicedo. This time, the offer was £80m. The Seagulls are adamant about selling the Ecuadorian for £100m+.

Keeping that in mind and understanding how difficult it is becoming to sign Caicedo, it makes sense that the club are preparing a hijack for Lavia’s transfer.

Although the former is currently ahead in the development and has a better overall experience of the game, the latter is a player similar in profile and he is also coming off the back of a tremendous season in the Premier League.

So, if Caicedo is not possible, Lavia for almost half that price should be rather more straightforward for Chelsea. The thing to note here is that Liverpool would probably accelerate their pursuit of the latter.

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• Dean Jones says Chelsea could send Carney Chukwuemeka on a loan

Therefore, if the Blues are convinced about this, they have to make sure that a bid has reached Southampton before the Reds make their next move. While we are on transfer deadline day, this could well become a transfer race against time.