Romeo Lavia Completes Move To Chelsea

Chelsea have completed the signing of Belgian fast-rising midfielder, Romeo Lavia, from Southampton.

The North London side reportedly paid over €62.10 million including add-ons to sign Romeo Lavia ahead of Liverpool who were the first side to reach an agreement with Southampton for the player.

Just like in the case of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia made it clear that his heart is at Chelsea which gave the North London side the needed edge to seal the deal.

Romeo Lavia’s arrival is Chelsea’s eighth signing this summer after the arrival of Moisés Caicedo, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sánchez, and Ângelo.

The 19-year-old Belgian defensive midfielder signed a seven-year deal with Chelsea which will keep him at Stamford Bridge until June 30, 2030.

After completing his move to Chelsea, Romeo Lavia said: “I’m really happy to join Chelsea and be a part of this exciting project. It’s an amazing football club with a great history and I’m really excited to get started.

“I can’t wait to meet all my new teammates and build chemistry together to achieve great things together.”

Romeo Lavia started his career at Anderlecht in his native Belgium, where he played for eight years, before joining Manchester City in 2020.

After going through City’s development program, he made his senior debut in September 2021. After that, he made one more appearance for City’s starting lineup before completing a move to Southampton for a transfer fee worth €12.30 million in the summer of 2022.

Last season, Lavia played 34 games for Southampton in the Premier League but could not help them to escape relegation.

“We are very pleased to welcome Romeo to Chelsea. He demonstrated his quality in the Premier League last season at Southampton, showing maturity despite his young age, and is a player we have monitored for some time”, Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said.

“We believe he is ready to make an impact at Chelsea throughout the current campaign, and in the coming years.”