Romeo Lavia was being chased by Chelsea and Liverpool; Reds struck a deal thought to be worth £60m but chose to join Chelsea in £58m deal from Southampton; Lavia signs seven-year deal; Blues already beat Liverpool to £115m signing of midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton
Friday 18 August 2023 17:47, UK
Chelsea have completed the signing of midfielder Romeo Lavia from Southampton in a deal worth £58m.
The deal is worth an initial £53m plus £5m in add-ons with the 19-year-old signing a seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
The transfer means Chelsea's first-choice midfield this season will likely be comprised of Lavia, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - a unit already being dubbed the 'LFC midfield' by Chelsea fans in the wake of Liverpool's failed attempts to sign both Lavia and Caicdeo this summer.
On completing his move to Chelsea, Lavia said: "I'm really happy join Chelsea and be a part of this exciting project. It's an amazing football club with a great history and I'm really excited to get started.
"I can't wait to meet all my new team-mates and build a chemistry together to achieve great things together."
Chelsea co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley added: "We are very pleased to welcome Romeo to Chelsea. He demonstrated his quality in the Premier League last season at Southampton, showing maturity despite his young age, and is a player we have monitored for some time.
"We believe he is ready to make an impact at Chelsea throughout the current campaign, and in the coming years."
Chelsea beat Liverpool to the signing of Lavia after the Reds agreed their own deal with Southampton.
Sources told Sky Sports News the total package agreed between Liverpool and Southampton was worth £60m, but the Belgian midfielder made clear his preference for moving to Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool already missed out on Caicedo to Chelsea after the Brighton midfielder moved to Stamford Bridge for a British record £115m. Liverpool had a £111m offer accepted by Brighton only for the 21-year-old to inform them he only intended to join Chelsea.
Lavia started his career in Belgium with Anderlecht, spending eight years at club before joining Manchester City at the age of 16.
He made his senior debut at the Etihad Stadium in September 2021, started in the EFL Cup against Wycombe Wanderers in a 6-1 victory.
The midfielder made one further appearance for City before completing a switch to Southampton last summer. Lavia made 34 appearances for Saints in a season that ended with relegation at St Mary's.
Chelsea have now splashed a league-topping £343.9m this summer.
Lavia becomes the club's 11th signing of the window, having also signed Moises Caicedo (£115m), Christopher Nkunku (£52m), Axel Disasi (£38.8m), Nicolas Jackson (£32m), Robert Sanchez (£25m), Lesley Ugochukwu (£23.1m), Angelo Gabriel, Ishe Samuels-Smith, Diego Moreira and Alex Matos (all undisclosed).
Last season, the Blues splashed a record-breaking £601.7m across both transfer windows on new signings and only recouped £61m from player sales - but the club has recouped more this season.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have cashed in £232.3m in this window, selling Kai Havertz (£65m), Mason Mount (£60m), Mateo Kovacic (£30m), Christian Pulisic (£18.8m), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£18.5m), Kalidou Koulibaly (£17m), Edouard Mendy (£16m) and Ethan Ampadu (£7m).
As it stands, all those deals place Chelsea fourth in the table for net spend with a balance of £111.6m.
With Chelsea spending £601.7m last season and already splashing £345.9m on new signings this summer, many football fans are asking the same question: how are they operating within Financial Fair Play rules?
As part of Sky Sports' Future of Football series, Sam Blitz discovers how Chelsea are using AI to help recruit into their academy.
Who will be on the move this summer when the transfer window opens on June 14 and closes at 11pm on September 1 in England and midnight in Scotland?
Keep up to date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
