In a recent tweet, journalist Florian Plettenburg revealed that Barcelona are facing a huge stumbling block in pursuit of Romeu Lavia. It is believed that the Catalan club cannot afford to pay Southampton’s £50m asking price for their prized asset.
Roméo #Lavia, there are still concrete talks with Chelsea, Arsenal, especially with Liverpool as Klopp is a big fan! #LFC
➡️ Been told that his price tag is around £50m this summer!
Confirmed: Barcelona was targeting the 19 y/o but his price is not affordable for Barca this… pic.twitter.com/IpiUvVyAEo
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 7, 2023
Lavia’s Decent Run Of Form At St. Mary’s Stadium
Lavia produced a run of impressive displays at the heart of Southampton’s midfield but failed to keep the Saints in the Premier League. The 19-year-old found the back of the net once and picked up one assist in 35 matches for the English outfit last season across all fronts.
The Brussels-born talent anchored the midfield with conviction by averaging 2.1 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 0.8 clearances and 1.0 dribbles per game in Premier League football. He was even tidy when distributing the ball from midfield after completing 86.4% of his attempted passes in the English top tier (stats via whoscored).
His current contract at Southampton will run out in the summer of 2027. Thus, Barcelona have no choice but to meet the player’s £50m price tag if they want to win the race to sign Lavia.
Barcelona Cannot Afford To Pay £50m For Lavia: Big Blow For Xavi?
Lavia is a good tackler of the ball and read the danger quickly to make some important interceptions for his team in the middle of the park. He doesn’t mind putting his foot through the ball when the opposition are on the offensive and can even make a few energetic runs with the ball from midfield. Lavia is an accurate passer of the ball as well but needs to add a few goals to his game if he wants to prove his worth at the highest level.
At 19, the Belgian sensation is playing some of the best football of his young career and has got a bright future ahead of him. Hence, he would have been a great signing for Barcelona in the long run.
However, Barca‘s current financial struggles have shackled them from paying £50m for Lavia which would be a massive blow for Xavi this summer. The Catalan club have now got no other option but to turn their attention to some of their more affordable targets during this summer transfer period.
