It's been on the cards for the past week or so, but Saints have finally announced that they have signed Romeo Lavia from Manchester City, as they pursue their strategy of snapping up some of the best young talent from the top clubs in England.
Saints transfer strategy under Sport Republic is becoming quite clear, it is about picking up youngsters from the likes of City, Chelsea and Liverpool etc who are ready for the Premier League, but are unable to force themselves into the first team squads of those clubs, the situation being that you have to be an exceptional talent to be able to force out the players signed at great expense.
This is a good strategy if it is worked properly, but it should be noted that if you get in inexperienced youngsters, especially in defence then you need players alongside them who are leaders and able to guide them through tough Premier League matches.
So far in the past few years Saints have lacked those sort of players in key positions and it is vital that we bring in a few leaders if these youngsters are to flourish.
Saints have announced the arrival of Romeo Lavia saying this:
Southampton Football Club is delighted to announce it has completed the signing of 18-year-old midfielder Roméo Lavia from Manchester City on a five-year contract.
A Belgium Under-21 international, Lavia was on the books of Anderlecht in his homeland from the age of eight, before joining City at 16.
Last summer he began training with Pep Guardiola’s first team, making his senior debut as a starter in a 6-1 victory over League One side Wycombe in the Carabao Cup.
His second and final first-team appearance for the Premier League champions came as a substitute at Swindon in the FA Cup third round in January.
A tenacious ball-winning midfielder, Lavia becomes Saints’ fourth signing of the summer following the arrivals of goalkeepers Gavin Bazunu and Mateusz Lis, and defender Armel Bella-Kotchap.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl said: "Roméo is an extremely talented young player at the start of his career who is open-minded and wants to learn and develop his game with us.
"We are very excited to sign him ahead of many other interested clubs. It proves that we have a positive reputation for improving young players, which we have worked hard to build up over the years.
"Roméo is coming from one of the best teams in the world, learning from the best manager and the best players. Now it is up to him to show us why he deserves to play in the Premier League, as we hope to help take his game to the next level.”
Roméo Lavia said: "I’m really delighted to join this club. I think this club has a really good culture with young players, so I’m really happy to be here.
"When I heard of the interest of Southampton I was buzzing because there’s an opportunity for young players to develop as much as possible and I’m very excited.”
This is Saints 4th summer signing so far and it has seen them lay out around £35 million without yet selling a player, there are some signs that now Saints are ready to move forward under the new owners.