Man City tipped to buy back prodigious player
FT Desk
- 9 Sept 2022 20:00 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester City let Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko leave this summer, but the Premier League champions might regret letting another leave so soon…
Romeo Lavia has hit the ground running since joining Southampton from City in a £14m/€16m deal in July, starting five of their six games and scoring in the recent 2-1 win over Chelsea.
A defensive midfielder who exudes calm under pressure despite his tender 18 years, City understandably put a buyback clause into Lavia's contract - one set at £40m/€46m.
Roméo in RED 🔴
Welcome to #SaintsFC, @RomeoLavia 🤝 pic.twitter.com/M4gPpRqeA9— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) July 6, 2022
With Rodri and Kalvin Phillips - a £42m/€48.5m summer arrival from Leeds - blocking his path to first-team minutes at the Etihad, Lavia's desire to move was understandable, but Alan Hutton, for one, can see him back in Manchester down the road.
"They might [buy him back]," the former Scotland right-back told Football Insider. "That's why they put [the clause] in there.
City 'see the potential'
"They obviously see the potential the boy's got. He obviously wasn't ready for the City team at this moment in time but they see that he possibly could be in the years to come and that's why they entered that in there.
"They'll just bide their time and see how he develops and if it's right for City and the player then he'll go back."
Lavia has previously stated that his inspirations in the game are Barcelona legend Sergio Busquets and former Man City captain Fernandinho - both players who have thrived under Pep Guardiola in their careers.
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City won't be able to get him back in a hurry, however. Chelsea attempted to buy the young Belgian weeks after he made the move to St Mary's, with Southampton turning down a reported £50m/€58m bid from the Blues.
"All of our points have been from losing positions," Saints coach Ralph Hasenhuttl reflected recently. This shows the mentality of the group. If Romeo wasn't injured this would be a super situation, he's a key player for us."
