Izuchukwu Okosi
Chelsea on Friday morning confirmed the signing of Belgian midfielder Romeo Lavia from Southampton on a seven-year contract after the player was courted by Premier League rivals, Liverpool.
Chelsea paid £53 million upfront and will pay Southampton an extra £5 million in add-ons for the former Manchester City prodigy.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelLavia, 19, will wear the No. 45 shirt after he jettisoned interest from Liverpool who planned to abandon their pursuit of him for Moises Caicedo on a bigger transfer budget.
“The project and the ambitions of the club were key factors in me choosing Chelsea, but also the history behind the club,” Lavia told the club’s official website.
“I’m really happy and proud. It’s a privilege to be able to put on this shirt. Most of the players we’ve signed are players I’ve played against, and thought ‘ooooof, these players are good’, so to be able to work with them is a great feeling.
“They are young players and good players, so it will be good to make each other better. That’s the only way to succeed.”
Lavia is entering his fourth season in England after leaving his boyhood club of Anderlecht at the age of 16 to join Manchester City’s Academy, having been spotted by Pep Guardiola at a youth tournament in Belgium organised by City captain, Kevin De Bruyne.
The teenager spent two seasons with City, quickly impressing at the youth level and seeing his fine form and development rewarded with a first-team debut in the EFL Cup against Wycombe Wanderers, winning City’s Elite Development Squad Player of the Season award in 2020/21.
Lavia was signed by Southampton last summer and made 29 Premier League appearances. He won possession 187 times over the course of the campaign and was one of only three teenagers at the start of 2022/23 to attempt at least 60 tackles across Europe’s top five leagues.
