Romeo Lavia joins Chelsea from Southampton.

After the back and forth, the negotiations and show of financial muscle between Chelsea and Liverpool, Romeo Lavia has finally settled on Chelsea as his new club. Chelsea have agreed a fee of £53m plus £5m in add-ons for the Belgian midfielder who has been key player for Southampton.

This news makes Chelsea once again victorious over Liverpool not on the field of play but on the Summer transfer market. It was Moises Caicedo who gave Liverpool a pain in the heart after he rejected their offer for what Chelsea offered making him the most expensive player in the English Premier League currently with a fee of £115million from Brighton.

Even though Southampton was relegated last season, Romeo Lavia’s 34 appearances was enough to attract attention from other clubs and it’s the reason why these two EPL clubs have such a soft spot for his talent.

It was Anderlecht’s youth system that groomed him. After the youth system at Anderlecht, he made a move to Manchester City in 2020 after Pep Guardiola had spotted him at the the KDB Cup; a tournament organized by Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne when he attended in Belgium.

Lavia joined Southampton on July 6, on a five year contract. BBC Sport reported the fees were around £10.5m and plus £3.5m in add-ons even though the Club never officially disclosed the fees. There was also a report that the terms and conditions in the contract included a £40 million buy-back clause and a 20% sell-on clause for Manchester City.

This move is a mixture of memories for the young lad due to the fact he scored his first goal in the English Premier League on 30 August 2022 against Chelsea when Southampton defeated Chelsea 2-1 which made him the first player born in 2004 to score in the EPL. He made such a feat scoring against a club he’s joining now and coming from a relegated club, this is the time to say sorry to Chelsea for that goal and also find redemption in his new club as one of the best title winning players.