Chelsea closing in on deals for Romeo Lavia and Michael Olise

Hakim Ziyech heading for exit as Premier League club remain busy in transfer market

Romeo Lavia of Southampton looks set to join Chelsea. Getty

Chelsea are poised to announce a deal for Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia as their rampant transfer spending continues.

The Blues have agreed a fee of £53 million for Lavia with a further £5 million payable in bonuses.

Lavia was at Chelsea for medical tests on Wednesday as they seek to wrap up another major midfield acquisition just days after clinching a British record £115 million deal for Brighton's Moises Caicedo.

Lavia only joined Saints last summer from Manchester City for a fee of £10.5 million. City are thought to have a 20 per cent sell-on clause.

The Belgium international joins Caicedo in snubbing strong interest from Liverpool to instead sign for Chelsea.

One player seemingly set to leave the club, however, is Morocco star Hakim Ziyech, who is the subject of interest from Galatasaray.

Chelsea have reportedly agreed a fee with the Turkish giants with the move subject to personal terms being agreed and medical tests. Ziyech has already seen moves to Saudi Pro League Al Nassr and Paris Saint-Germain collapse earlier this year.

Ziyech was without a squad number and had been training away from Mauricio Pochettino’s first-team along with Romelu Lukaku and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who have been linked with Juventus and Fulham, respectively.

The 30-year-old Ziyech scored 14 goals in 107 appearances for the Blues since joining the club from Ajax in 2020.

Meanwhile, Lavia could be swiftly followed into Stamford Bridge by Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise.

The Blues are reported to have triggered a £35 million release clause in Olise's contract, giving them permission to discuss a deal with the 21-year-old London-born France youth international.

The loss of Olise for a fee below his market value will be a bitter blow for Palace, who have already seen club legend Wilfried Zaha leave the club to join Galatasaray on a free transfer this summer.

Olise is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury and it is not expected to be fit again for several weeks.

The Blues are also pursuing a deal for the 18-year-old Santos forward Deivid Washington, who will reportedly cost a fee of £17 million.

The signing of Caicedo took the club's transfer spend to £906 million on 27 players across three windows since being acquired by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, and with more business imminent, there's every chance that could top a billion by the end of the month.