Why Chelsea and Liverpool wanted to sign Romeo Lavia so much - ESPN

Chelsea have signed 19-year-old midfielder Romeo Lavia for an initial £53m ($67.4m) after a transfer battle with Premier League rivals Liverpool, but what makes him so special?

For any player to emerge from the ashes of Southampton's 2022-23 relegation season with any distinction is quite an achievement; for them to do so while taking their first steps in senior football is more remarkable still.

After being plucked from Manchester City's academy in June 2022 for an initial fee of £10.5m, Lavia made his Premier League debut for Saints on the opening day of last season at Tottenham. Aged 18 at that point, he showed that he possesses a truly special midfield skillset.

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Lavia quickly became integral for Southampton, starting five straight games. He scored in his fifth — a long-range rocket against Chelsea — but on the hour mark, he hobbled off injured and wouldn't be seen again for months. Then-manager Ralph Hasenhüttl's postmatch comments only served to reiterate how early Lavia was into his career. «Two intense Premier League games in three days is a completely unknown experience for him,» he said. «I have to be more careful about how much we can force them [young players] to show their quality.»

Hasenhüttl's words made sense, and in a perfect world he would have to stuck to them. But soon after Lavia returned in early November, Saints' world looked far from perfect. Stuck at the bottom of the table and struggling to turn in good performances, and Hasenhüttl sacked: Southampton had no choice but to turn to the teenager time and time again.

The club tried to limit the number of full 90 minutes he played — he only completed 10 of the 25 games Southampton played following