'HERE WE GO' - Fabrizio Romano reveals Chelsea reach agreement to sign Southampton's Romeo Lavia
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 16 Aug 2023 08:08 BST
- 4 min read
Chelsea have reached an agreement to sign Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia, fighting off competition from Liverpool in the process.
The move has been confirmed by numerous sources - including Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein - with Chelsea set to pay an initial €61.7 million (£53m), plus a further €5.8m (£5m) in add-ons.
Lavia, 19, will undergo his medical at Chelsea this week after agreeing to the deal on Monday.
The Belgian midfielder, who has one senior international cap under his belt, was heavily pursued by Liverpool, but he opted against signing for Jurgen Klopp’s side in favour of joining Chelsea.
The Blues had a Deadline Day bid for Lavia rejected by Southampton last summer, just weeks after he had joined the club from Manchester City.
However, the 19-year-old has been on Chelsea’s radar ever since and it’s believed that Joe Shields - the man responsible for Lavia’s move to St Mary’s - played a key role in convincing the Belgian youngster to move to Stamford Bridge.
Shields left his role at Southampton in October 2022 to become Chelsea’s Co-Director of Recruitment and Talent.
Lavia is set to join Chelsea this week and is one of three players on the verge of joining the club, along with Deivid Washington and Michael Olise. The Blues also signed Moises Caicedo from Brighton for a British transfer record fee on Monday.
Man City to profit from Lavia move
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Man City are scheduled to receive 20% of the profit Southampton make on the sale of Lavia due to a sell-on clause that was included in the deal that saw him leave Pep Guardiola’s side in 2022.
Southampton paid an initial £10.5m for Lavia, meaning if the Belgian’s add-ons at Chelsea are met then Man City will receive £9.5m of the £58m fee.
Man City also had the option to match any bid placed for Lavia, but opted against challenging Chelsea for his signature. Guardiola’s side signed Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea earlier this window, but failed in their pursuit of Declan Rice, who joined Arsenal.
