Chelsea complete £58m Romeo Lavia transfer from Southampton as they hand him seven-year contract & No.45 shirt

• Lavia joins Chelsea in £58m move
• Signs a seven-year contract
• Chelsea's midfield rebuild continues

WHAT HAPPENED? The Belgian midfielder signed a seven-year contract with the London outfit after the Saints accepted an offer of £53m ($68m) plus £5m ($6m) in add-ons. He will wear the No. 45 jersey in the 2023-24 season.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Lavia is a product of the Anderlecht youth system, where he spent eight years before joining Manchester City at the age of 16. However, he made just one senior appearance for the Premier League champions before he was sold to Southampton. Despite the Saints being relegated last season, Lavia was a bright spark in midfield and caught the attention of Chelsea and Liverpool. In a transfer tug-of-war that also included Moises Caicedo, Lavia rejected the Reds in favour of Chelsea.

WHAT THEY SAID?: "I’m really happy join Chelsea and be a part of this exciting project. It’s an amazing football club with a great history and I’m really excited to get started. I can’t wait to meet all my new team-mates and build a chemistry together to achieve great things together," Lavia said after completing the move.

IN A PHOTO:

Getty

WHAT NEXT? Lavia will hope to make his Chelsea debut against West Ham on Sunday in the Premier League, with £115m ($146m) signing Caicedo also likely to play a part at the London Stadium.