Chelsea on Wednesday night, submitted a £48m bid to Southampton for Romeo Lavia and talks could accelerate in the next 24 hours.

The Saints are expected to reject the offer as they hold out for their £50m valuation.

Liverpool have seen three bids for Lavia rejected so far this summer, the latest of which was worth around £45m.

Chelsea want to sign two midfielders before the transfer window closes at the end of the month and are also interested in Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Leeds’ Tyler Adams.

Lavia has four years left on his Southampton contract after joining from Manchester City last summer.

However, the Belgium international is expected to leave after Saints were relegated from the Premier League last season.