Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has heaped praise on Romeo Lavia ahead of his side’s upcoming clash against Southampton.
City put a £40 million (BBC Sport) buy-back clause in his contract after he was sold to the Saints, as he has taken to the permanent move like a duck to water.
As his side prepare to lock horns against Southampton, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was extremely complimentary of Romeo Lavia.
Guardiola lavishes praise on to Lavia after impressive Southampton stint
The 19-year-old has been a revelation since his switch to St. Mary’s, cementing his position as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League this season.
To the extent that the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United were linked with his signature, as his buy-back clause only gets triggered in 2024.
In his latest press conference, Pep Guardiola was in awe of Arsenal transfer target Romeo Lavia and the impact he has made in a Southampton shirt so far.
“Really impressed with what Romeo is doing, we had and have an incredible opinion about him. We thought to keep him but we thought maybe he doesn’t get enough minutes like he’ll get in Southampton”, he told Manchester Evening News’ Daniel Murphy.
MCN View: A Romeo Lavia return to Manchester City is vital
Not to give up any hope on Kalvin Phillips, who has largely been injured in his debut campaign but the Belgian’s return to the Etihad Stadium is a dream that rightly unites the Sky Blues supporters as a whole.
As Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said, Southampton wonderkid Romeo Lavia is well and truly an incredible prospect and in case any of the other ‘Big Six’ clubs snap him up, the club could lose out on a potential successor for Rodri.
The hope remains from a City point of view that is not the case and he plays his football in the blue side of Manchester for years to come.
