16 August 2023 , 06:09
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Pep Guardiola admitted those at Manchester City had "an incredible opinion" of Romeo Lavia, but allowed him to leave because they couldn't guarantee him minutes.
Now the young midfielder is closing on big-money move to Chelsea.
The young midfielder was allowed to leave the Etihad 12 months ago as he sought more game time and stood out in a Southampton side that suffered relegation. Despite their drop Lavia's stock continued to rise and there has been plenty of interest in him this summer.
Despite Liverpool's efforts to land the Belgian it looks as though he will move to Stamford Bridge in a £58m deal. It means he will play for one of City's direct rivals and Guardiola and co are under no illusion about his quality having seen it first hand, but felt they had to let the player move on.
The Catalan admitted last season: “I am really impressed with what Romeo has done and is doing. We had, and we have, an incredible opinion about him. We thought to keep him, but maybe he would not (get) enough minutes like he has in Southampton."
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Lavia is set to bolster a midfield that already includes Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - two men who have moved to Stamford Bridge for British record fees, as Chelsea continue to spend huge sums under Todd Boehly.
The young Belgian previously confessed that playing against the Saints for City was what inspired his move to the south coast.
He said: “I’ll be honest with you, in the middle of June I’m doing my school exams – I hear interest from Southampton, and when I hear it I’m just like ‘let’s go'. I looked at the culture of the club, the style of play with which I was really impressed by when I was on the bench for City playing against Southampton. It was really exciting and that’s how it went.”
Guardiola has seen several names leave the Etihad and go on to thrive elsewhere. Jadon Sancho was among the most high profile players to seek pastures new as he sought more minutes and excelled at Borussia Dortmund before eventually returning to English shores with City's rivals Manchester United, although he's yet to regularly replicate the quality he showed in Germany.
During his time in the Bundesliga the City boss maintained he stuck by his decision to sanction Sancho's exit: "I've said many times, it is not a regret. He decides. He's doing really well. Congratulations, he's an exceptional player. He is a national team player with huge quality, doing really well in Dortmund.
"We wanted him to stay but he decided to leave, and when people decide to leave all we can do is (let them) leave."