Romeo Lavia transfer agreement 'close' amid Southampton decision as Kepa nears Chelsea exit

Catch all the biggest Chelsea headlines including the latest on Romeo Lavia, Diego Moreira and Kepa Arrizabalaga

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Your morning headlines on Sunday, August 13th.

Full Romeo Lavia agreement edges closer

The game of cat and mouse continues between Liverpool and Chelsea with both clubs identifying defensive midfield as a priority position in the remaining few weeks of the window, with Brighton's Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia of Southampton the two favoured candidates.

There has already been plenty of talk on the escalating bidding war surrounding the in-demand Caicedo, but in recent days Lavia has emerged as a key target for Mauricio Pochettino, with the Blues now 'seriously moving' and looking the likelier to land the 19-year-old, according to football.london sources.

Chelsea have offered over the £50million asking price set by Southampton for Lavia, however the club anticipate another late bid from Liverpool and as a result have planned a medical as soon as possible for the young Belgian to prevent any potential hijacking.

And the midfielder was left out of the Saints squad entirely for their Championship encounter against Norwich on Saturday.

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Kepa set to join Real Madrid

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, after five years in west London, is set for a move to 14-time Champions League winners Real Madrid, football.london understands.

The exit comes after former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee last week, which will likely see the Belgian shot stopper out for most, if not all, of the upcoming campaign.

Bayern Munich had previously registered their formal interest in signing the 13-time capped Spain international, although the finer details of a move to Real are still to be ironed out.

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Youth lineups give good indication of Mauricio Pochettino's plans for promising stars

Mark Robinson's Under-21s side began their Premier League 2 campaign on Friday evening, running out 6-1 victors away to Blackburn Rovers, with goals from Leo Castledine, Ronnie Stutter, Zak Sturge and Donnell McNeilly helping secure an impressive victory.

It was the players perhaps not involved in Friday's fixture that gave you the clearest indication of their Chelsea future with the best example perhaps being Harvey Vale who football.london understands is being protected from injury risk ahead of a loan move being completed.

Recent arrival Diego Moreira was involved with the Under-21s for the first time, making a second half appearance against Blackburn from the bench. The highly regarded Portuguese youngster has spent significant time with the first team this summer, most recently when he was involved in first team training on Friday ahead of PL2 match that evening, where he stood out and impressed.

He will benefit from the regular game time afforded to him at that level, but it would seem for the moment, he will be available for the development squad while remaining close to the first team, another who could perhaps make the squad for the Liverpool match on Sunday.

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