Man Utd ‘enter race’ for £50m Liverpool and Arsenal target

Manchester United have reportedly entered the race to sign Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia.

The Belgian has been the subject of two bids from Liverpool over the last week, with Southampton said to be holding out for a fee of around £50m.

United are in the market for a new midfielder this summer and are interested in Sofyan Amrabat. However, any arrivals at this stage will be dependent on departures, with Mason Mount and Andre Onana already signing for just under £100m, while Rasmus Hojlund’s transfer for up to £72m should be wrapped up this week.

United are expected to shift the likes of Eric Bailly, Fred and Donny van de Beek soon, while Erik ten Hag is willing to sell Dean Henderseron, Brandon Williams, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Anthony Martial in permanent deals this summer.

Meanwhile, as the search for a new midfield recruit continues, United ‘are considering trying to trump’ Liverpool in their attempts to sign Lavia, claim the Independent. The outlet adds that the Red Devils should be in a position to purchase the teenager if they can sell the players deemed surplus to requirements, while Arsenal could try and sign Lavia if funds can be raised from Falorin Balogun's departure.

The Independent also claim the influx of Saudi Arabian money into the transfer market this summer has 'inflated the market' and means that selling clubs feel no need to reduce their asking price for players, which has impacted the ability of United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea to bring in a new midfielder.

Lavia is one of the main targets after his solitary year at Southampton, despite playing in a side that were relegated to the Championship last season. The 19-year-old joined from Manchester City last summer for an initial fee of £10.5m, with the Blues adding a sell-on clause as part of deal, meaning they could profit from Lavia’s potential transfer.

City also have a buy-back option on the highly rated central midfielder, but Pep Guardiola is not believed to be interested in resigning the player at this stage.