Manchester City are reportedly being updated on the situation of Southampton's Romeo Lavia, with the midfielder set for a move away from the South Coast this summer.
The 19-year-old joined the Saints from the Citizens before the 2022-23 term for a fee of £12m, having made just two appearances for Pep Guardiola's men after graduating from the club's youth setup.
Despite impressing during his first season as a first-team regular, Lavia was unable to prevent Southampton from finishing bottom of the Premier League, ending the club's decade-long spell in the top flight.
The Belgian featured 29 times under a mixture of Ralph Hasenhuttl, Nathan Jones and Ruben Selles last campaign - with 26 of those being from the start - scoring his first senior goal in a 2-1 victory over Chelsea in August 2022.
Although Lavia departed the Etihad only a year ago, he could be set for a move back to the Premier League champions according to Manchester Evening News, who claim that Manchester City are keeping tabs on his transfer situation.
This summer has been a time of change in the Citizens' midfield, with treble-winning captain Ilkay Gundogan leaving to join La Liga champions Barcelona, while Croatian Mateo Kovacic has signed for City from Chelsea.
The report claims that Man City have a buy-back clause in the deal that they agreed with Southampton for Lavia, meaning Guardiola's men could have a head start in the race to secure the youngster's services.
It is believed that a host of other Premier League clubs are interested in signing the Belgium international, with Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal all said to be admirers of the midfielder.
Jurgen Klopp's Reds are understood to have been the most forward in their attempts to lure Lavia, with the Merseyside club reportedly in the process of preparing an opening offer for the player.
The recent arrivals of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai may have lessened the need for Liverpool to bring in the Saints midfielder, however Klopp is still looking to complete an engine-room overhaul this summer after the departures of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner and Naby Keita.
It is understood that Southampton are demanding in excess of £50m for the sale of Lavia in this transfer window, as the South Coast club look to provide new manager Russell Martin with a sizeable budget to mould his squad into one fit for Championship promotion.
Manchester United are also said to be keeping tabs on the 19-year-old's situation as the summer progresses, although the Red Devils are currently focusing on deals for Serie A duo Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund.
After the exit of David De Gea from Old Trafford was confirmed earlier this month, United are in the market for a new first-choice goalkeeper, and the signing of the Cameroonian stopper is expected to be announced within the next week.
Southampton begin their pre-season schedule with a clash against Turkish club Goztepe on Saturday evening, and it remains to be seen whether Lavia will be part of Martin's long-term plans. body check tags ::
