Southampton have confirmed the signing of Romeo Lavia from Manchester City on a five-year deal.
18-year-old Lavia broke into the City first team last season making appearances in both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup. He has also helped City’s development squad to back-to-back Premier League 2 titles in recent years.
The former Anderlecht youth prospect has now opted to move to the south coast, with the midfielder’s move being confirmed on Wednesday evening.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “Romeo 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.
“Romeo 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.”
Lavia added: “I’m really delighted to join this club. I think this club has a really good culture with young players, so I’m really happy to be here.
“When I heard of the interest of Southampton I was buzzing because there’s an opportunity for young players to develop as much as possible and I’m very excited.”
