A player who was sold during Southampton’s summer firesale last summer has endured a torrid time since leaving St Mary’s.
Following relegation from the Premier League, Southampton had to cut their cloth accordingly by selling some of their best talents, pocketing a combined £150 million.
The Saints raised vital funds after dropping down from the top flight with several players currently flourishing at their new clubs, including James Ward-Prowse at West Ham, Nathan Tella at Bayer Leverkusen and Tino Livramento at Newcastle United.
Other exports haven’t been quite as fortunate, with Romeo Lavia – who they sold to Chelsea for £58 million – currently struggling due to matters that are out of his hands.
Romeo Lavia’s time at Southampton
Southampton made the shrewd £10.5 million capture of Lavia from Manchester City in the summer of 2022.
Aged 18 at the time, Lavia rose to prominence at St Mary’s as a ball-winning machine, ranking in the top 11% of Premier League’s midfielders last season for blocks and the top 23% for interceptions.
A shield in front of the Saints defence, who possessed the pace, power and press resistance to drive forward with the ball, Lavia made 29 appearances in his first full campaign of top-flight football.
Despite suffering relegation to the Championship, the talented midfielder possessed “so much potential”, as described by former Manchester United star Paul Scholes, and knew he would be inundated with offers from some of the biggest clubs.
A rare shining light in a side that finished bottom, the Man City academy graduate was the subject of a transfer tussle from Liverpool and Chelsea with the Blues and Todd Boehly’s riches coming out on top.
Lavia was expected to slot alongside Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in Mauricio Pochettino’s midfield, but an injury-stricken campaign has prevented him from leaving his mark.
Romeo Lavia’s injury nightmare at Chelsea
Regarded as one of the Premier League’s best defensive midfielders, Lavia arrived at Chelsea with an ankle injury and missed almost five months at the beginning of the season.
The 20-year-old didn’t make his Blues debut till December, coming off the bench for a 32-minute cameo against Crystal Palace.
However, that was his last action on the pitch with Pochettino confirming after the game that he had suffered another injury.
The former Man City man hasn’t featured since with Chelsea’s official website now confirming he’s out for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign.
During a crucial period as a young player, Lavia has been robbed of first-team action by two horrible injuries and it’s a real shame because he’d have been a useful weapon for Pochettino to unleash.