Midfielder Romeo Lavia will undergo a medical on Wednesday ahead of his move to Chelsea, while Hakim Ziyech is close to exiting Stamford Bridge.
The Blues agreed an initial £53million fee to sign Lavia from Southampton on Tuesday, which could rise to £58m in add-ons. Lavia is now in London to go through his medical tests, but Ziyech will be the latest player to go through the exit door at Chelsea after an agreement in principle was reached with Galatasaray for his transfer.
It has been a whirlwind few days for Mauricio Pochettino’s team, with the British record capture of Moises Caicedo from Brighton completed on Monday. Caicedo’s transfer could eventually total £115m and a day later the Blues closed in on the signings of Lavia and Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise.
After Lavia made it known to Southampton on Monday that he favoured a move to west London, Chelsea and the recently relegated Saints reached an agreement for his transfer on Tuesday night. Lavia will sign for an initial £53m with Southampton able to receive a further £5m in add-ons.
The spending under owner Todd Boehly shows no sign of slowing down though, with Olise’s £35m release clause activated on Tuesday. It allows Chelsea to now negotiate personal terms with the highly rated Crystal Palace winger. Olise is currently out injured with a hamstring issue and his current club Palace are reported to be unhappy with Chelsea’s conduct during their pursuit of the France Under-21 international.
Chelsea, though, are comfortable they have done nothing untoward and Olise is expected to finalise his move this week. Ziyech should leave after Chelsea and Galatasaray reached an agreement for his transfer on Wednesday, but the Morocco forward still has a medical to complete after moves to Paris St Germain and Al Nassr collapsed earlier this year.
Source: Independent
