Chelsea tried to fix their midfield woes in the final throes of Deadline Day with an offer that could make Blues fans laugh or cry
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Chelsea made a number of shock moves over the summer in a huge transfer window. Perhaps that was expected considering that it was Todd Boehly's first as owner.
It was the summer of opportunity for the Blues, pouncing on Marc Cucurella when the full-back was close to a Manchester City move, raiding City in turn for the unwanted Raheem Sterling and bringing in Aston Villa contract rebel Carney Chukwuemeka for £15 million.
But in the dying hours of the transfer window, perhaps they could have made the most head-turning decision of the whole summer.
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly had quite the summer bringing in new faces (Image credit: Getty)
According to renowned transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, the west London outfit moved for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia on Deadline Day.
"Chelsea wanted to sign Romeo Lavia on Deadline Day with £50m verbal proposal rejected by Southampton," the Italian tweeted. "Of course, he’s untouchable."
The deal would have been astounding for a number of reasons – not least because Lavia only signed for Southampton this summer for £12m. The Belgian is still just 18 years old, too – and has only played five times in the Premier League.
But fascinatingly, the discussions for Lavia only happened after the Belgian netted against the Blues, as the Saints won 2-1 at St. Mary's.
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What's the opposite of "Can't beat them, join them"? (Image credit: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Fans have had opposing views on the idea of the deal on social media.
"As good as he is Southampton should’ve accepted this," one fan replied, while another remarked that a Director of Football at Stamford Bridge could "not come soon enough".
It remains to be seen quite how serious the discussion over Lavia was…
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
