Romeo Lavia, a 19-year-old midfielder from Southampton, has been signed by Chelsea for £58 million.

The midfielder signed a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge and further strengthens Mauricio Pochettino’s squad. The deal is worth an initial £53m plus £5m in add-ons.

Lavia who started his career with Anderlecht in his native Belgium and spent eight years with the club before joining Manchester City at the age of 16.

The possibility of Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez, and Moises Caicedo forming the team’s midfield this season excites Chelsea fans. They are now called ‘LFC midfield’ in reference to Liverpool’s failed bids to sign Lavia and Caicedo.

Speaking after moving to Chelsea, the 19-year-old said: “I’m really happy to 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 teammates and build chemistry together to achieve great things together,” he stated.

Co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley wrote: “We are very pleased to welcome Romeo to Chelsea. He demonstrated his quality in the Premier League last season at Southampton, showing maturity despite his young age, and is a player we have monitored for some time.

We believe he is ready to make an impact at Chelsea throughout the current campaign, and in the coming years.”

The club confirmed that Lavia will wear the number 45 for Chelsea this season.