Romeo Lavia's Manchester City Buy-Back Clause Revealed Amid Imminent Southampton Transfer

After Gavin Bazunu’s transfer to St. Mary’s was confirmed, it seemed like Leeds were standing in Southampton’s way of signing yet another Manchester City wonder-kid.

However, it was recently claimed that Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side have reached an agreement to sign the gifted midfielder for £10 million.

The Belgian joins a number of City youngsters to depart the club in some capacity this summer, with others including Sam Edozie, CJ-Egan Riley, Darko Gyabi and Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

Since arriving from Anderlecht in 2020, Lavia has been touted as the Sky Blues’ future defensive midfielder.

Pep Guardiola starting him in the 6-1 victory against Wycombe Wanderers in the League Cup last season - an indicator of how highly he rated the teenager who impressed in his first-ever start for the club.

However, it has been previously reported that those within the Etihad Stadium believe the gem isn’t ready to push Rodri for first-team minutes just yet.

As a result, the Premier League champions look set to sign Kalvin Phillips as an understudy to the Spaniard ahead of next season.

With a sizeable number of City fans expressing their annoyance at the highly-rated starlet’s departure, new details have surfaced that will appease their fears.

According to the latest information provided by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, a buy-back clause set at around £40 million will be included for Manchester City to initiate Romeo Lavia’s return.

The same seems to be the case with Bazunu, who could be signed at a similar fee by the Sky Blues if the club are seriously impressed by his development in the South Coast.

In the case of Lavia, City are said to believe that he has the potential to become the side’s starting number six in the future.

However, it is key for a player of his calibre to get minutes under his belt at such a nascent stage of his career.

While some have expressed their grievances at the price tag, it could well end up being a steal to sign one of the division’s potentially most well-rounded midfielders in a few years’ time for £40 million.

Considering City have so much faith in Lavia’s talent and Southampton’s penchant for nurturing young talent, history could prove extremely kind when looking back at the club’s decision of including a buy-back clause over time.

Lavia has never hid his desire to become a regular at City.

But with Rodri and now Phillips ahead of him in the pecking order, the lure of regular Premier League football was too good to ignore.

As previously stated, it may not be the end of Lavia's City journey, but it is certainly the next step in his blossoming young career.