Chelsea and Southampton remain in discussions following the Londoners’ bid for Romeo Lavia, with the south coast club still holding out for a fee in excess of £50m.
Chelsea, who have also agreed to meet Leeds midfielder Tyler Adams’ £20m release clause, finally and dramatically entered the race for Lavia on Wednesday night with an official offer of £48m.
Liverpool had done much of the running before then for the highly-rated Belgian youngster, making a number of bids the most recent worth around £45m.
As of Wednesday morning, Chelsea’s bid has yet to be accepted as of Wednesday morning with Southampton still pushing for and expecting their valuation to be met and talks are continuing between the clubs.