BREAKING NEWS: Romeo Lavia CONFIRMS his £58m Chelsea transfer as he sends a farewell message to Southampton after snubbing Liverpool – but faces a race to be registered in time to face West Ham on Sunday
- Southampton star Romeo Lavia has confirmed his imminent move to Chelsea
- The Blues reached an agreement to sign the Belgian midfielder for £58million
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Southampton star Romeo Lavia has confirmed his imminent £58million move to Chelsea via a post on his social media.
The Belgian international is set to become Todd Boehly’s latest summer signing after the Blues thrashed out a deal with the relegated side on Tuesday.
And now, Lavia has confirmed his imminent departure in an emotional message to his social media followers.
On Instagram, he wrote: ‘To Saints Fans. As I say goodbye, I want to say a big thank you for everything you have given me during my time here.
‘I’ve instantly felt the love from you all despite us not achieving our shared goals. I’ll never forget the belief the club and Saints all around the world showed me and I hope I was able to repay the faith you put in me.
Romeo Lavia has confirmed his imminent move to Chelsea via a post on social media
The Blues reached an agreement with the Saints to sign the Belgian international for £58m
‘I would especially like to thank all my teammates and all staff members within the club involved closely or not for putting your arms around me since the day I walked through the Staplewood Campus and for all the daily work and help behind the scenes making me become a better person, athlete and football player. You have all played a massive part into making my integration into real professional football easier.
‘I will be forever grateful to you. For those reasons, this club will always remain close to my heart.
‘Good luck this season and I look forward to seeing the club marching back to the Premier League where it belongs very soon! Thank you Saints. Roméo’.
Lavia now faces a race to be registered in time for Chelsea’s next match, which sees them travel to London rivals West Ham on Sunday afternoon.
In order to be available for the match, the 19-year-old will have to be registered by midday on Friday.
Interest in the former Southampton star has been ongoing throughout the transfer window and it seemed at one stage as though he would be signing for Liverpool.
The Reds were in hot pursuit of the 19-year-old and submitted multiple offers to the Saints, only for Chelsea to swoop in and reach an agreement with the club.
Lavia spent some time back in Belgium before returning to England for his medical with the west London giants.
As Mail Sport revealed on Wednesday, the deal includes an additional £5million in add-ons – with Chelsea’s spending under American owner Todd Boehly now on the brink of breaking the £1billion barrier.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side will sign the Belgian international despite Liverpool’s interest
The 19-year-old made 34 appearances in all competitions for the Saints during 2022-23
Lavia joined Southampton last season from Manchester City after impressing during his formative years in the academy at the reigning Premier League champions.
Pep Guardiola rejected the buy-back option inserted into his contract at the south coast club but will recoup 20 per cent of the sell-on fee from the deal with Chelsea.
The amount City receive should average out at around £11.6million once Lavia signs on the dotted line to become Chelsea’s latest summer recruit.
Lavia – a Belgian international – enjoyed a breakthrough year in the English top-flight last season, making 29 Premier League appearances, but was unable to help steer the Saints clear of the drop zone.