Chelsea have completed the signing of defensive midfielder Romeo Lavia from Southampton for $73.8m.

The 19-year-old has put pen to paper on a seven-year contract and his arrival further bolsters Mauricio Pochettino’s midfield after the Blues completed the British-record transfer for Moises Caicedo from Brighton for $145m earlier this week.

Chelsea sign former Man City midfielder Romeo Lavia

On completing the switch this morning, Lavia told Chelsea’s official club website, “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. 

Lavia chose to move to Chelsea over Liverpool earlier this week after the Reds had a bid accepted for the Belgian international on Monday. Explaining his decision to choose Chelsea, Lavia said, “My feeling is that the project, the ambition, and the history were key factors. These three factors were determining my decision to join Chelsea.

Lavia scored against Chelsea for the Saints last season and will wear the 45 jersey he wore at both Southampton and Manchester City as a youth team player.

Due to a clause in Lavia’s contract at Southampton, City are also expected to pocket around $10.2m of the $73.8m transfer fee.