Southampton have agreed a deal to sign youngster Romeo Lavia, while they are also pursuing a move for prospect Levi Colwill.
report that an agreement with Lavia is close, with state that a £10m package for the 18-year-old has already been ironed out.
The defensive midfielder has made two first team appearances for Manchester City since arriving from Anderlecht in 2020, with one League Cup start and one FA Cup substitute appearance.
He was around the first team squad on a regular basis, sitting on the bench in the Premier League and Champions League numerous times, although never getting onto the field in those competitions.
City rate the young Belgian highly, according to the Athletic, and were not keen to let him go, but with the arrival of Kalvin Phillips from Leeds they have been encouraged to allow him to move on. Although they will have a buy-back clause in the deal with Saints.
A move for Colwill is far less advanced, but Southampton are keen to do a deal for the 19-year-old centre-back.
The England Under-21 international spent last season on loan at Huddersfield Town in the Championship and was impressive as the Terriers narrowly missed out on promotion, losing to Nottingham Forest in the Play-Off final.
Chelsea are short on numbers in defence after the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, but manager Thomas Tuchel is looking for more experienced replacements and Colwill is likely to leave.
Southampton have a strong relationship with the Blues after signing Tino Livramento on a permanent and Armando Broja on a loan deal last season.
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