Player Profile: Romeo Lavia

Lets have a brief look at our newest recruit.......

Romeo Lavia

Player profile;

Age: 19

Nationality: Belgian

Position: Holding Midfielder

Height: 5ft11in

This might be my favourite signing of the window, I am a massive fan of this kid and believe he has all of the attributes and all of the potential to be truly World-Class. To me this feels like the reverse of our ‘KDB moment’ by picking him up when City let him go just last year.

An incredible talent that started his career in the famous youth system at Anderlecht, he moved away from his native Belgium at the age of just 15 and signed in to the Man City academy by a certain Joe Shields. This is where his development fully started to take shape, initially into their U18 setup, it wasn’t long before he started playing up age groups and racked up over 60 games across the 20/21 & 21/22 seasons.

In the summer of 2022 Southampton hired Joe Shields and he was quickly followed by a few of Man City’s up and coming stars, Lavia included. An excellent start to the 22/23 season, including an excellent finish against The Chels, saw 2 deadline day bids rejected, one of which was upwards of £50m. A strong first PL season for Lavia, unfortunately ended in relegation.

Style of play;

A press-resistant, super athletic and defensively minded midfielder who really excels in tight spaces. Lavia is an all-round holding midfielder, he can dribble effectively, is an excellent tackler and is improving with every match he plays.

Over the last year he ranks in the top 3% of midfielders in Europe for blocks. In the top 25% for all of the following metrics; Pass Completion, Successful Take-Ons, Tackles and Interceptions. This is even more impressing given the fact he was playing in a woeful Southampton side for all of this period.

A couple of clips below that are worth watching;

Verdict;

OUR SIGNING OF THE SUMMER.

Given the context of our previous midfield situation, Liverpool rivalling us for DM’s and our previous interest, to me this is our best signing of the summer. I absolutely love the player and believe he has an unbelievably high ceiling which Mauricio Pochettino can help him reach.

I cannot wait to see him line up in our midfield alongside the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo!

Luke Rushbrook