Romeo Lavia is on the verge of signing for Chelsea despite being a Liverpool target all summer. The 19-year-old defensive midfielder joins from Southampton for a rumoured fee of £50m.
One more club finds itself at the heart of this business — Man City.
Man City are Lavia's former club. Although he didn't make a single appearance for Pep Guardiola, City were wise to include a few clauses in the transfer agreement with Southampton. Here's how they play out for them now.
1. Man City get a cut from the transfer. More than £10m will be transferred to City's accounts as the 20% sell-on clause.
2. The buy-back clause no longer exists. City included the £40m buy-back clause but it would've only been valid in the summer of 2024. Since Lavia is no longer at Southampton, the clause no longer applies.
Man City's academy is producing absolute gems these days and its only downside is that you have to sell some of them because there's no place in the first team.
Goalkeeper James Trafford is another great example of it. He wasn't just stunning throughout the European Youth Championship that England won, but he also didn't concede a single goal. But since he cannot challenge Ederson right now he was sold to Burnley.
One more example is Carlos Borges who was voted the Premier League 2 Player of the Season last year. He was sold to Ajax for €19m without making an appearance under Pep Guardiola.
Naturally, both Trafford and Borges have similar clauses to the one included in Lavia's contract at Southampton.
