Arsenal are unwilling to meet Southampton’s £50 million asking price for Romeo Lavia, according to reports.
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Mikel Arteta is on the verge of landing his top midfield target as Declan Rice is due to undergo a medical with Arsenal on Friday ahead of his £105m move from West Ham.
However, Arteta is keen to strengthen his central midfield even further following the departure of Granit Xhaka, who completed his £21.4m switch to Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday.
According to Sky Sports, Arsenal will switch their focus to signing Lavia once their deal for Rice is complete but the Gunners are looking to sign the 19-year-old for less than Southampton’s £50m valuation.
The report also claims that Liverpool are in the same position as they too are interested in signing Lavia but are unwilling to spend £50m due to their outlay already this summer.
Chelsea are also in the running to sign Lavia but their current focus is to reach an agreement with Brighton for Moises Caicedo.
It’s understood that Chelsea have held extensive talks with Brighton this week but are willing to pay the £100m asking price for the Ecuador international.
Southampton, meanwhile, are resigned to losing Lavia this summer following their relegation from the Premier League.
Lavia joined Southampton in a £14m deal from Manchester City last year and delivered several impressive performances in his debut campaign.
City did include a buyback option in their deal with Southampton, however, it will not be activated until next summer.
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