Belgian international starlet and mercurial Southampton midfielder Roméo Lavia has finally decided on his next port of call after opting to head off to Stamford Bridge to play his trade under Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea.
The 19-year-old standout Saints man has been one of the most highly-coveted midfielders during the summer transfer window, which saw Liverpool and Chelsea go head-to-head for his services while Arsenal reportedly harbored a measure of interest.
Per The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Lavia will join Chelsea after the Blues saw their £50m + add-ons bid accepted by Southampton, hitting the valuation the club wanted to stand by all summer.
🚨 Romeo Lavia has chosen to join Chelsea from Southampton. Liverpool were pursuing but are aware of decision. #CFC & #SaintsFC have good relations, so no issues expected on deal or personal terms. Fee likely to be around £50m + add-ons @TheAthleticFC #LFC https://t.co/EjmFknCViS
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) August 14, 2023
Both clubs are reported to have good relations and personal terms are not expected to be an issue moving forward, while this will now see Liverpool once again reverting to zero in their pursuit for a summer move to fill the void in the 6 role that has been left vacant after both Fabinho and Jordan Henderson left Anfield to join the growing exodus to the Roshn Saudi League.
With this, Chelsea has now spent ~£850m in just two summer transfer windows plus January since the arrival of Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, though the deal for Lavia could certainly be scrutinized in some capacity given the number of midfielders the club has accrued despite not featuring in Europe this season.
This comes in the wake of the club having agreed a deal for Moisés Caicedo just yesterday, adding the new pair to Enzo Fernández, Conor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka, Lesley Ugochukwu, Cesare Casadei, and Andrey Santos, with Chelsea now capable of boasting eight central midfielders, all of whom are 23 or younger.
📰 Table Of Contents
