Blues sign Saints midfielder

Chelsea have officially confirmed the signing of Romeo Lavia from Southampton. The Blues will pay the Saints a fee of £53m, potentially rising to £58m with add-ons. Lavia has put pen to paper a seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge and will wear the No.45 jersey at the club.

Lavia started his career at Anderlecht in his native Belgium before joining Man City in 2020. He made only two appearances for the club- both Cup ones, before joining Southampton last summer. City’s deal with Saints had a 20% sell-on clause, so they stand to make a little over £10m with Lavia’s current move to Chelsea.

The midfielder made 34 appearances across all competitions for Southampton last season, but couldn’t prevent Saints’ relegation to the Championship.

Lavia’s arrival comes days after Chelsea snapped up Felipe Caicedo from Brighton. Both Caicedo and Lavia were also targets for league rivals Liverpool, but Chelsea pipped the Reds to both signings.

The nineteen-year-old Lavia could make his Chelsea debut this weekend when they square off against London rivals West Ham United. Both sides started the 23/24 league campaign with 1-1 draws- Chelsea were at home to Liverpool, while the Hammers travelled to the South Coast to take on Bournemouth.