Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed how pleased he is with the progress Romeo Lavia has made at Southampton.
The 19-year-old has shined for the Saints, with talkSPORT understanding that Chelsea hold an interest in a potential transfer.
Lavia signed for Southampton last summer on a five-year deal after making two senior appearances at City, who are believed to have inserted a £40million buy-back clause into his contract which will be eligible in 2024.
His debut campaign on the south coast has been impressive to say the least, making 25 appearances across all competitions.
Despite losing the youngster from their academy, Guardiola is pleased to see the midfielder doing so well.
Speaking ahead of City’s trip to Southampton this weekend, he said: “I am really impressed with what Romeo has done and is doing.
“We had, and we have, an incredible opinion about him.
“We thought to keep him, but maybe he would not [get] enough minutes like he has in Southampton.”
Should Lavia continue his fine form, then he could find himself taking another step up in his career as Chelsea explore a potential move.
The Blues are set to step up their efforts to sign the Belgian in the summer.
Chelsea attempted to sign him just weeks after he completed his switch to Southampton.
However, should the Saints be relegated from the Premier League this season, then they may have no option but to cash in on one of their star players.
A move to Stamford Bridge would see Blues co-owner make yet another signing on top of their near £600m spending spree since last summer.
Their current focus though is on searching for their next permanent manager following the departure of Graham Potter, with Frank Lampard back as interim boss until the end of the season.