Romeo Lavia: Where could Southampton’s midfield sensation end up?
While the likes of Declan Rice and Mason Mount have been dominating the headlines in the transfer market, it’s safe to say that Southampton’s star midfielder Romeo Lavia has flown under the radar.
Despite finishing rock bottom in the Premier League rather unceremoniously, Lavia was one of the lone bright spots on the Saints’ sinking ship. There was an obvious intelligence and maturity in the way he went about understanding his game, growing stronger with each passing week.
Lavia, 19, was a true all-rounder, winning balls high up the pitch, deftly carrying it and doing his best with over two tackles per game on average to prevent the second-most generous defense in the division from leaking more goals than they did.
In fact, no player in the PL under the age of 20 played more minutes than Lavia – a demonstration of his unrelenting consistency.
One man’s loss is another man’s gain. Lavia is too good to be playing in the Championship, having racked up numbers that would embarrass even the best in Europe. A host of clubs have been linked with him, and below, we measure the likelihood of Lavia’s next destination.
Manchester City – 5/10
Let’s begin with the club that can exercise the most control should Lavia remain for one more season at Southampton.
Manchester City can hold talks with the teenager and advise him to think of Southampton as a loan move before eventually triggering his £40m buy-back clause that can be activated in 2024. Signed from Anderlecht in 2020, he is highly regarded in the City camp.
Here’s what Pep Guardiola had to say about the midfielder who prevented his club from winning an unprecedented quadruple “I’m really impressed with what Romeo is doing. We have an incredible opinion of him. We thought to keep him but we didn’t have enough minutes for him that he could get at Southampton.”
Indeed, Lavia starred in a 2-0 win for Southampton in the EFL Cup quarter-final, choking Man City’s potent attack alongside Ibrahima Diallo.
Man City also have a 20% sell-on clause should they not make a move for the talented midfielder. Guardiola and co. are fresh off inking RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol, and would have to react if the team loses first-team stars Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva.
That makes Lavia’s return to Man City rather unlikely, although they have the authority to match a rival bid.
Chelsea – 6/10
As far as Chelsea are concerned, they’ll have to remain patient and analyze where Lavia eventually wants to go, or if they can lure their priority targets first.
They’ve already raised over £200m in sales this summer as part of their overhaul, creating an opening for the £50m-valued star to join the West Londoners. However, the interest in Lavia has cooled after it was initially reported that Chelsea began talks for the 19-year-old’s services.
Todd Boehly and his directors are prepared to test Brighton and Hove Albion’s resolve once again, as talks for the transfer of £75m man Moises Caicedo intensify.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1673992665124175874
They’ve lost N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic this window after having parted ways with Jorginho to Arsenal in January. That makes for three departures of the midfield nucleus that led to Chelsea’s Champions League triumph not long ago, as well as three players who have donned the armband for the Blues over the last couple of years.
Therefore, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them going all guns blazing for both Caicedo and Lavia. The Blues have learnt from their past mistakes and kept talks with players more secretive, while their approach to selection has been far more measured. It could play a role in landing Lavia, but only time will tell if they can win over the player’s preference with their project.
Arsenal – 6/10
Arsenal have made their attempts clear in a bid to go one better after an impressive yet lamentable league campaign. They’ve pried Kai Havertz from London rivals Chelsea for a deal worth up to £65m, and are leading the race for arguably the transfer window’s hottest property – Declan Rice – for a package that could total up to a staggering £105m.
Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Arsenal are keen on Lavia as a midfield target but only if they lose both Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1675887836610871297
Their attention is on completing the Rice saga, along with Jurrien Timber from AFC Ajax. Although reports that they’re now considering raising their offer for Lavia are now making the rounds, after Manchester United reportedly expressed interest in his signature.
https://twitter.com/SamiMokbel81_DM/status/1675823499531649024
That makes for an interesting twist from the Gunners’ perspective, as they could fall behind in the race for Lavia while coughing up about £210m for three players.
Liverpool – 7/10
An exclusive from the Athletic last month reported that all of the ‘big six’ in the Premier League are in the running for Lavia.
None have been more closely linked with the player over the last few hours than Liverpool, who are making giant strides in their midfield reconstruction.
They landed Alexis MacAllister earlier in the summer and recently added Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai to their squad for £60m. The new number 8 signed after two-and-a-half years at RB Leipzig, scoring an impressive 20 goals for the club.
https://twitter.com/LFC/status/1675843833521733632
And now, a fresh story from talkSPORT claims Liverpool are set to launch an opening bid for Lavia soon after acquiring their midfield target from Leipzig. It’s understood that they’re prepared to go all in for him as a potential Fabinho successor. The Brazilian is turning 30 this October.
They could be taking advantage of clubs tussling for Gabri Veiga. Further, Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal have their attention turned towards other transfer priorities.
The Merseysiders, meanwhile, have also shortlisted Borussia Monchengladbach’s Manu Kone and Khephren Thuram (OGC Nice). It would be a dream window for Liverpool if they can tie Lavia to a new experience at Anfield.
Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, as referred to earlier, are other clubs to look out for. It’s a narrative that will gather pace in the coming weeks and remains a very fluid situation. One which likely hinges on the contracts of several other prominent Premier League players across the league.
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.com. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license.