Chelsea’s midfield rebuild begins as Blues open talks with Southampton for Romeo Lavia

• Midfield exodus at Chelsea in the summer
• Chelsea interested in Lavia
• Chelsea also eye Caicedo

WHAT HAPPENED? According to Football.London, Chelsea have opened talks with Southampton over a summer move for £50m-rated Lavia to revamp their midfield for next season.

Lavia was one of the few standout performers for Southampton despite the club getting relegated this season, which has seen him catch the eye of many clubs and feature in this year's NXGN Nine. It's highly likely that he leaves the Saints this summer after their demotion to the Championship.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Chelsea are likely to see many midfielders leave the club in the upcoming transfer window, with Mason Mount, N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all tipped to part ways with the club soon.

As a result, the Blues are looking to add new midfielders to their team, to replace the outgoing players and reinvigorate the squad.

AND WHAT'S MORE: Apart from Lavia, the London side will also try to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo in the summer, with the Blues hoping to snap up both players.

However, they will have to face competition from fierce rivals Arsenal who are also looking to sign Caicedo, with Brighton slapping an £80m fee on the Ecuador midfielder.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT FOR LAVIA? Lavia will hope to get his future sorted soon so that he has a good pre-season before the new campaign begins after the summer break.