CHELSEA have continued their summer spending spree with the signing of Romeo Lavia from Southampton.
The Blues sealed the acquisition of the young midfielder today, just four days after signing Moises Caicedo for a British record fee of £115m from Brighton.
The Lavia deal is reportedly set to cost Chelsea £58m in total — £53m in guaranteed transfer fee and £5m in add-ons.
“Chelsea has completed the signing of midfielder Romeo Lavia from Southampton,” the club confirmed on their official website today.
“The 19-year-old has signed a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge and further strengthens Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.”
Lavia, who has one senior international cap for Belgium, said he was eager to start playing for his new club after Chelsea beat Liverpool to his signature.
“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,” he said.
“I can’t wait to meet all my new team-mates and build a chemistry together to achieve great things together.’
Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: “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.”
Lavia started his career with Anderlecht in his native Belgium and spent eight years with the club before joining Manchester City at the age of 16.
He made the switch to Southampton from Manchester City U-23s in July 2022 for €12.3m and made 34 appearances for the Saints as they got relegated from the Premier League.
