Chelsea have completed the signing of Belgium midfielder Romeo Lavia from Southampton for a fee believed to be £53 million plus £5 million in add-ons.
The 19-year-old signed a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge to add more depth to Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.
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.
“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 told Chelsea website after he was unveiled.
“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 described Lavia as a quality player. “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,” the duo said.
