According to transfer expert Ben Jacobs, Chelsea are unwilling to pay £50million to sign Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia.

The Blues are keen for Southampton to lower their asking price if a deal is to be done, with the current £50million price tag too steep.

“They’ve all been using the buyback clause for 2024 which is available to Manchester City as a kind of yardstick, even though that’s not active and that’s set at £40million”, Jacobs told GiveMeSport.

“So, I think that clubs looking at Lavia may feel there may be a deal there to be done, especially with player buy-in and Southampton down.

“But, the price has to come down, because I think £50million for Lavia seems to be quite steep.”