Man Utd £90m double deal as Arsenal eye fourth signing and Liverpool submit bid

Liverpool are striving to conclude a deal for Romeo Lavia as quickly as possible to avoid any risk of a late hijack from Chelsea.

The Blues are losing patience with Brighton in their quest to sign Moises Caicedo after seeing their latest bid worth £80m rejected within seconds by Amex Stadium chiefs on Thursday.

Caicedo, who is currently in the United States with Brighton, wants the move and is waiting for an agreement to be struck between the two clubs.

But Chelsea are growing frustrated with the Seagulls’ reluctance to reduce their £100m asking price for the 21-year-old.

If they decide to walk away from the table, the Blues would be prepared to reignite their interest in 19-year-old Belgian Lavia.

Chelsea bid £50m for the teenage talent last August but the verbal proposal was rejected out of hand by Southampton.

Now the Saints could relish the prospect of a bidding war after recently rejecting Liverpool’s opening offer worth £38m for the defensive midfielder.

The Reds are ready to submit a fresh offer worth £42.5m and they hope to welcome Lavia to Singapore for their next two pre-season matches against Leicester and Bayern Munich ahead of the new season.

Chelsea’s interest in being driven by recruitment chief Joe Shields who brought the player to Southampton last summer from Manchester City.

Lavia was subbed at half-time on Tuesday in Southampton’s 3-2 friendly defeat to Bournemouth and Saints boss Russell Martin later claimed the star has ‘a lot on his head’ following Liverpool’s transfer approach.