Chelsea seal signing of 'perfect player' Romeo Lavia but suffer Reece James injury blow

Big-spending Chelsea completed the signing of midfielder Romeo Lavia from Southampton on Friday.

The Blues are reported to have forked out £53 million for the 19-year-old, who has played just 29 times in the Premier League, in a deal that could potentially rise to to £58 million.

It is the second time in a week that Chelsea have beaten Premier League rivals Liverpool to the signature of a highly rated midfielder after Brighton's Moises Caicedo chose Stamford Bridge over Anfield in what was a British record fee of £115 million.

“That is about the player's decision,” said Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino, ahead of Sunday's game at West Ham United. “It is their decision if they come here. It wasn't a competition, it was a player's decision to join us.

“That makes us very happy and they talk very highly about our owners and our sporting directors in the way that they work.

“The players wanted to come here because I think they are feeling something special. I hope they are feeling something special.”

Chelsea have now spent more than £350 million during this transfer window once performance-related add-ons are taken into account, with their other summer arrivals including Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi and Nicolas Jackson

However, those purchases have neen been significantly offset after a number of players left the club during the same window.

The likes of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic all joined Premier League clubs, while Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and N'Golo Kante moved to Saudi Arabia.

First words from Romeo!