According to Alex Crook, Chelsea have angered Southampton following their approach for Joe Shields, and the future of Romeo Lavia could now be affected.
Why Chelsea have angered Southampton
Well, the Blues have moved to pinch Shields – Head of Recruitment at Southampton – from St Mary’s in an approach which has left the Saints shocked.
According to The Athletic, Southampton have told him to stay away from St Mary’s as well as Staplewood – the club’s training ground – after he agreed to join Chelsea without there being any contact between both clubs.
Southampton feel disrespected, with senior figures said to be furious at hearing the news in the media without being informed first.
Shields only arrived from Manchester City just under four months ago, and while the Saints could place him on six-month leave as a notice period, they would consider a compensation package to let him leave early.
Unsurprisingly, things are tense between both Chelsea and Southampton, and Crooks believes that will complicate things for Todd Boehly if he tries to sign Lavia again.
The 18-year-old wonderkid was the subject of a £50m bid from Chelsea on deadline day, despite the fact he only joined Southampton from Manchester City for a sum of £10.5m in July.
Romeo Lavia should ignore Chelsea & stay at Southampton
In our view, Lavia needs to try and ignore speculation about his future and focus on Southampton.
The Belgian is a massive talent, although Stamford Bridge has not been the best place for young talents in previous years – even those Chelsea have produced themselves at Cobham.
For example, the Blues signed a precocious talent in Carney Chukwuemeka in a £20m deal from Aston Villa back in June, and he has since played just four minutes of Premier League football.
Things may change under Graham Potter, although on the basis of previous years, Lavia risks harming his development if he joins Chelsea at this stage of his career.
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