Report: Erik ten Hag now sees £55m midfielder Chelsea want as Casemiro’s long-term successor at Manchester United

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Southampton’s Romeo Lavia is a young talent linked as a transfer target for Chelsea, but fresh speculation suggests Manchester United have plans to bring him to Old Trafford.

Romeo Lavia, who’s just 19, is having a fantastic breakout season during his debut year at St Mary’s.

The former Manchester City prospect may be playing for a Southampton side rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, but he’s standing out as a big star for the future.

According to The Independent, Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag admirers Lavia.

In fact, the Belgian midfielder is even viewed as a potential long-term successor at Man United to Casemiro.

Casemiro, 31, is one of the top midfielders of his generation and pulling the strings right now in Ten Hag’s side. It’s an achievement in itself to be lined up as his potential replacement further down the line.

Chelsea rumours

We’ve heard in recent months that Chelsea are interested in signing Southampton’s rising star.

Journalist Ben Jacobs reported last month that Chelsea and Arsenal could have their opportunity to move for Lavia this summer. However, he does add that Southampton value him at £55million and they’d rather not sell him to the Blues.

This comes after journalist Sacha Tavolieri reported on Twitter that Chelsea have held talks with Lavia’s agents about a potential move to West London.

If you examine the confidence and strength of Lavia in Premier League games, it’s hard to believe he’s still only teenager.

There is a lot of improvement and development for the midfielder to go through in the years ahead, but we do understand any kind of comparison to a finished article like Casemiro.

We believe that Lavia would bully teams in the Championship and deserves to be in top-flight football, so he needs to move if Southampton are relegated.

The thought of him in a midfield pivot alongside Enzo Fernandez at Chelsea is an intriguing one. Let’s wait and see if the Blues speculation ramps up in the months ahead, though.