Romeo Lavia is being chased by Liverpool and Chelsea; Reds struck a deal first but Blues have now agreed terms with Southampton over a move; Lavia made it clear he wants to join Chelsea; Blues beat Liverpool to the signing of Moises Caicedo from Brighton
The deal is worth an initial £53m plus £5m in add-ons and Lavia has completed his medical.
Personal terms between Chelsea and Lavia are not expected to be a problem.
Liverpool had agreed a deal worth £60m with Southampton for Lavia on Sunday night, but the player has made it clear he wants to go to Chelsea.
Liverpool have already missed out on Moises Caicedo to Chelsea. The Blues signed Caicedo from Brighton worth a British record £115m.
That followed Liverpool having a £111m offer accepted only for the 21-year-old to inform them he intended to join Chelsea.
Chelsea want to bring in two midfielders in this window and talks between them and Leeds United over the signing of Tyler Adams broke down last week after the parties were unable to reach an agreement.
Southampton had initially been holding firm on their £50m valuation of 19-year-old Lavia.
Chelsea had made an offer of £48m last week, while Liverpool had seen three previous offers turned down this summer.
