A club legend appears to still have Chelsea’s backs despite what is turmoil time at the club right now.

Southampton rejected Chelsea’s £50m bid for Romeo Lavia last summer (Photo: Getty)

The Blues are set to renew their interest in Lavia, as well as Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, having missed out on top defensive midfield target Manuel Ugarte to PSG.

Todd Boehly sanctioned a £50million bid for Lavia at the end of the last summer, which was swiftly rejected as Southampton had only signed him from Manchester City less than two months before.

In January, Chelsea came calling again and were turned away but they are hoping to make it third time lucky this summer with the 19-year-old reportedly up for sale following the Saints’ relegation.

According to the Express, the South Coast club want at least £45m for the Belgium International while Chelsea’s director of recruitment Joe Shields, the man who signed Lavia for Southampton, is said to be the main driving force behind the Blues’ interest.

But Lavia was one of the few shining lights in the Southampton side that finished last in the Premier League and as such should be the subject of much transfer interest over the coming months.

Eden Hazard has recently been released by Real Madrid (Photo: Getty)

But Chelsea have a surprise advantage over any potential transfer rival, with the report also claiming that their former forward Eden Hazard has spoken to his fellow Belgian about his time at Stamford Bridge.

The 32-year-old, who was recently released from Real Madrid, has ‘actively encouraged’ his former international teammate to move to west London should the opportunity arise.

Though Boehly spent a record £600m on transfers last season, there are still many gaps in the squad that new manager Mauricio Pochettino will need filled.

One of those is in defensive midfield where there is much uncertainty around the future of N’Golo Kante who contract expires at the end of June.

Soucre:  metro.co.uk