Moises Caicedo will "not be the last signing for Chelsea in terms of midfielders" this summer, according to transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
Chelsea transfer news – What's the latest on midfield targets?
With the departures of N'Golo Kante and Matteo Kovacic already confirmed and the deal to sell Ruben Loftus-Cheelk to Italian giants AC Milan for £18.5m agreed as well, it is perhaps no surprise that the Blues would be on the lookout for more than just one new body in the centre of the park.
Add to that the completed deal to sell German international Kai Havertz to cross-city rivals Arsenal, and the Pensioners start to look very thin in an area of the squad that looked overcrowded just a month ago.
That said, Romano stressed that Brighton & Hove Albion's Ecuadorian machine is still the club's primary target this summer, and despite his information that the West London club will be looking for more players, he couldn't specify who exactly they were interested in.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said: "The discussions are going to take place for Caicedo, we wait for the next steps and, let me say, that from what I heard, this could be not the last singing for Chelsea in terms of midfielders.
"They could also consider one more midfielder in the next weeks, so lets wait and see, this will depend also on the pre-season, but Chelsea are going to be busy with midfielders."
However, one of the names that have been linked to the team is Southampton's exciting prospect Romeo Lavia, per FootballTransfers, a player Chelsea might have to rival Arsenal for should the interest be genuine.
Would Romeo Lavia be a good signing for Chelsea?
If the two-time European Champions can secure the signature of Caicedo, then 19-year-old Lavia could be the perfect understudy or even midfield partner for the Ecuadorian.
According to WhoScored, the Belgian teenager achieved a solid average rating of 6.56 across his 29 Premier League games last season, which looks quite promising in the context of his incredibly dysfunctional Southampton side.
He is also a bit of a defensive powerhouse, averaging 1.9 blocks per 90, putting him in the top 4% of players across Europe's top five leagues for that metric, per FBref.
Before he made the move to the south coast, he was a part of Manchester City's youth set-up, and his ability clearly left an impression on former boss Pep Guardiola, as the Spaniard heaped praise upon the player, saying:
"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."
In seasons past, the idea of a young player going to Chelsea to develop might've seemed farcical, but under new boss Mauricio Pochettino – a manager famed for his ability to develop youngsters – Stamford Bridge could just be one of the best places a burgeoning talent could go.
If Chelsea can beat their rivals to the signature of Lavia, it could turn out to be a signing that pays dividends further down the line.