Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia insists he is not thinking about reports linking him with Premier League giants Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester City, speaking to Sky Sports.
Lavia is certainly an old head on young shoulders.
And, as you might expect given the way he plays the game, the 19-year-old Belgian is responding to those ever-growing transfer rumours with a composure and a maturity which belies his tender age.
Lavia, the Daily Mail say, has admirers at Manchester United, Chelsea and Premier League leaders Arsenal. Man City also have a £40 million buyback clause in their former midfielder’s contract, abelti one that can only be triggered in the summer of 2024.
Romeo Lavia a target for Arsenal, Man United, City and Chelsea
“I don’t read it (the rumours) because I just don’t think about it,” Lavia responds. “I just enjoy my football and focus on what we have to do as a club.
“Whatever is outside, it is not what I can control. So I don’t pay attention to that. Football, with how it goes, it goes so fast.
“One moment you can be in the headlines and the next, you’re not. So the only thing to do is just be neutral; don’t think about it and get your head down and work.”
Arsenal are prioritising a commanding central midfielder this summer and Lavia is likely to come a lot cheaper than Declan Rice, with West Ham boss David Moyes publicly demanding in excess of £100 million for the England international. Moises Caicedo, meanwhile, has now signed a new, long-term contract at Europa League-chasing Brighton and Hove Albion.
‘He will be a top player’
Lavia was excellent again as Southampton climbed off the bottom of the Premier League table with a 1-0 victory over Leicester City on Saturday. The teenager has been a rare ray of light in an otherwise dark season at St Mary’s.
“He’s very good,” Man City star Kevin de Bruyne told the MIDMID podcast shortly before Lavia’s £14 million departure last summer. “He’s been training with us (the first-team)
“If he continues his development, I think he’ll be a top player.”
“I already knew that Romeo had enormous footballing qualities. I didn’t know that he could also do that at Premier League level,” adds Belgium youth coach Wesley Sonck.
“He has a very interesting profile for the position as a defensive midfielder. Romeo is a very calm boy. Apparently, he decided for himself – and probably with his entourage – that it would be better for him to leave City.”
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