‘working hard’: Chelsea boss hints at imminent arrival of £58m Southampton star with medical booked

Chelsea are closing in on Romeo Lavia with a medical reportedly booked for the 19-year-old to undergo before signing a long-term deal at the club. Lavia will be another massive signing for the Blues who sealed a British record fee with Brighton and Hove Albion for the signing of Moises Caicedo.

Chelsea’s gain will be another loss to Liverpool who had primed the Southampton midfielder as their summer target but got distracted by their attempt to hijack the Moises Caicedo deal when Chelsea showed signs of hesitance.

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has been asked about adding to his squad and he gave little away but admitted they were working hard to improve the quality of the team. He told reporters: “At the moment, I don’t want to talk about players that don’t belong to us.

“But, like any club, we are working really hard to add more quality and of course to reinforce the team and the squad.

“We are working hard and I am so happy with the way we are doing the things. At the moment, so far so good.”

Chelsea are believed to have struck a deal worth an initial £55m for the 19-year-old, potentially rising to £58m by way of add-ons.

Chelsea have also triggered the release clause of Crystal Palace star Michael Olise who is only returning from a hamstring injury after being out for six weeks. The Crystal Palace winger provided 11 assists last season, the most by any player outside the top six of the Premier League last season.