Southampton’s Busy Summer Continues With Their Fifth Signing Completed
Southampton have been busy in the early days of the summer window as they welcome their latest arrival; they have signed Manchester City midfielder, Romeo Lavia, on a five-year deal.
The Saints are two signings away from reaching the same total of summer signings as 2021. They have already added four players before announcing the permanent capture of the Man City youngster.
The fee for the player could reach £14m, with £10m paid up front and a further £4m paid in bonus features. Added to the deal and another factor that further highlights the player’s promising talent is that Manchester City have inserted a £40m buy-back clause in the sale of Lavia.
"Southampton have completed the signing of Romeo Lavia from Manchester City in a deal that could reach £14m.Southampton will pay an initial £10m for the rising Belgian midfielder who has signed a five-year deal, with further add-ons structured into the deal which also contains a buyback clause in the region of £40m for City. (Via: dailymail.co.uk)"
Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl’s words likewise speak volumes about his talent, stating it is on him to improve his game and prove himself in the English Premier League, as he has all the right tools to succeed.
The Southampton boss on his new signing:
"Roméo is coming from one of the best teams in the world, learning from the best manager and the best players. Now it is up to him to show us why he deserves to play in the Premier League, as we hope to help take his game to the next level.Roméo is an extremely talented young player at the start of his career who is open-minded and wants to learn and develop his game with us.We are very excited to sign him ahead of many other interested clubs. It proves that we have a positive reputation for improving young players, which we have worked hard to build up over the years(Via: southamptonfc.com)"
A fresh start at Southampton for Romeo Lavia
There is a lot of work to do for both the Saints and their new arrival, having had no real run in the first team at City. He only featured twice for Pep Guardiola’s side, playing in the FA Cup and EFL Cup, and only one of the two games was a start.
He has 98 minutes of first-team minutes and will need to adapt at 18 years old to the English top flight. But with the Saints always finding a way to get the best out of their young talents at the club, it should be a match made in heaven for the Saints.
He spend most of his time at the Etihad in the reserve side where he managed 35 starts out of 35 games, scoring two and assisting another four goals. It was also time for him to move abroad with chances few and far between under Guardiola. They have now added Kalvin Phillips from Leeds United, which further adds to his selection problems.
Romeo Lavia follows his former City teammate and now Southampton mate, Gavin Bazunu, Armel Bella-Kotchap from Bochum, Mateusz Lis from Altay SK, and Alex Iwumene from Sutton United.