Romeo Lavia, a midfielder from Belgium, has been officially acquired by Chelsea from Southampton for an initial $53 million
The 19-year-old has committed to a seven-year deal worth up to a further £5 million in add-ons.
Lavia appeared in 34 games across all competitions last season, but she was unable to stop Saints from being demoted from the Premier League.
Lavia expressed her excitement at working with Chelsea and being a part of the fascinating endeavor.
“I’m very looking forward to starting at this fantastic football club with such a rich history.
“I can’t wait to get to know everyone on my new team and create chemistry so we can accomplish great things together.”
Liverpool was also interested in Lavia, but the Saints rejected the Reds’ third offer earlier this month, which is thought to have been for almost £46 million plus add-ons.
Lavia follows Moises Caicedo, who joined Chelsea from Brighton for a £100 million transfer price that might increase to a British record £115 million, as the second player this week to choose Chelsea over Jurgen Klopp’s team.
Lavia, who went through Anderlecht’s youth program, joined Manchester City in 2020 after Pep Guardiola noticed him at a match in Belgium. The young player, who struggled to break into City’s first squad and only had two senior games at the club (in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup), joined Saints in July 2022 for £10.5 million.
Due to a sell-on clause, City will get 20% (£10.6 million) of the initial £53 million sum paid by Southampton.
Earlier this year, Lavia earned his international debut for Belgium, replacing another player with ten minutes left in a friendly win against Germany.
Southampton thanked Lavia for his “efforts and professionalism” while he was a member of the team for one season and wished him “every success in what [they] are sure will be a fantastic career” in a statement.
Lavia posted a farewell letter on Instagram thanking Southampton supporters for their support.
Despite the fact that we failed to meet our mutual objectives, Lavia wrote, “I’ve felt the love for you all right away.”
“I hope I was able to repay the faith you exhibited in me. I’ll never forget the belief the club and Saints all over the world showed in me.
“I want to thank everyone at the club, especially my teammates and the staff. I credit you guys for much facilitating my transition into actual professional football.
“For those reasons, I will always have a special place in my heart for this club. Good luck this year, and I hope to see the club marching back to the Premier League soon, where it belongs.
Continued summer spending by Chelsea
Lavia joins Caicedo, Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Angelo Gabriel, Robert Sanchez, and Diego Moreira as Mauricio Pochettino’s ninth summer additions at Chelsea.
The team needs to be completely revamped if Mauricio Pochettino is to significantly improve on the Premier League’s 12th-place finish from the previous season.
So far this summer, Cesar Azpilicueta, Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ethan Ampadu, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, and Mateo Kovacic have all left the team.
Chelsea and Liverpool drew 1-1 at home to start the Premier League season on Sunday.
Lavia also marks the 23rd player Chelsea has paid a fee to sign since Todd Boehly and his Clearlake group acquired the club in May 2022. The owners have spent a total of over £900 million on new players since then.