Chelsea agree a fee with Southampton to sign midfielder Romeo Lavia
As per David Ornstein for The Athletic live blog (subscription required), Chelsea have agreed a fee worth up to £58m to sign young Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia in the coming days.
The completion of this move is now dependent on the Belgian international undergoing his medical. His former club Manchester City will receive 20% of the fee due to the sell-on clause that was attached to the contract.
It was about 24 hours ago when it was revealed that Lavia has chosen a move to Chelsea over Liverpool. The latter did the groundwork to sign him earlier in the window but had three bids rejected by Southampton.
If all things go well, the 19-year-old will become the second midfielder to sign for the Blues who were a subject of interest for Liverpool this summer. Moises Caicedo was the first one.
Lavia is an exceptional young player who was probably Southampton’s best player in their relegation campaign in the Premier League last time around.
He is a defensive midfielder who is comfortable on the ball, can sustain pressure and make good decisions on the ball, reads the game well and covers the ground rapidly off the ball.
There is a chance that Mauricio Pochettino partners him with Caicedo in the midfield pivot, allowing Enzo Fernandez to play as a number 10. The latter showed his quality playing as an attacking number eight against Liverpool on Sunday.
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The other thing about Lavia is that he is just 19. So, as much as he is already a good player, there is room for him to further develop and become an elite footballer. He is coming to the right club for that to happen, especially under a manager like Pochettino who likes to work with top young players and make them world-beaters.