Chelsea offered £50m for midfielder with five Premier League appearances
Karan Tejwani
- 3 Sept 2022 18:45 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea were active towards the end of the transfer window, bringing in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Denis Zakaria, and there could’ve been another big surprise arrival at the end.
The Blues were the biggest spenders of the transfer window out of any club across Europe, spending big on names such as Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella before that.
New owner Todd Boehly and his consortium wanted to show their ambition in their first window at the club, and they’ve given Thomas Tuchel all the signings he wished for.
There could, however, have been another deal right at the end of the window, that of Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia, who has only just burst on to the scene.
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Lavia only moved clubs this summer
Lavia only joined Southampton from Manchester City earlier in the summer for a fee of around £12 million, being part of the Saints’ new recruitment policy.
The South coast club have recruited players who are young, and Lavia, aged 18, was one of the buys touted for a great future in the game.
The Belgian midfielder joined Manchester City from Anderlecht, but never made a senior appearance for the Cityzens in his time there, having been in Manchester from 2020 to 2022.
Romeo Lavia is the youngest Belgian goalscorer in the Premier League. He's 18 years, 7 months and 24 days. When Adnan Januzaj - 'the boy who could do everything' - scored his first (Barclays') Premier League goal in 2013, he was 18 years and 8 months. pic.twitter.com/eUFHAk7yH0
— Kristof Terreur (@HLNinEngeland) August 30, 2022
Manchester City recognised his potential, and in his sale, they put in a clause that allows Pep Guardiola’s club to buy him back for £40 million at any point in the future if they wish.
Chelsea, though, are keen on his talents and offered £50 million on deadline day, according to Fabrizio Romano, despite the player making only five senior Premier League appearances in his career.
That bid was immediately rejected and Southampton view him as an untouchable figure of their set-up, hoping to keep him in their side for a few years.
Just a few days before the bid, Lavia even scored against Chelsea, becoming the first player born in 2004 to score a goal in the Premier League.
Sadly for Southampton, he is set to miss the next six weeks of action due to injury, but they’ll be hopeful he can retain that form upon his return.
