Manchester City are reportedly not considering making a move to bring Romeo Lavia back to the Etihad Stadium.
After leaving the Manchester club during the previous summer transfer window to join Southampton in a deal worth £14m, the midfielder has found himself linked with a move away from the south coast club.
Specifically, the Belgian has found himself mentioned with a move to the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, which, if he were to join a new club this summer, would get rid of the £40m buy-back clause that City had in his Southampton deal that was said to become valid next year.
Now, some behind-the-scenes details have come to light regarding the likelihood of City striking a deal to bring their former youth player back to the club this summer.
Lavia not currently in City’s plans
According to a recent report from The Athletic, City are not currently thinking about launching a transfer move to sign Lavia.
Prior to joining Southampton, the 19-year-old made 59 youth appearances for City and featured in two senior games, scoring two goals and providing five assists in the process.
Across his debut season with the Saints, even though they ended up getting relegated, the teenager still managed to get plenty of game time under his belt, with 29 of his 34 appearances coming in the Premier League.
The former City youngster definitely made an impression in the Southampton team as he ended the league campaign with the second-highest total of progressive passes (102) and recoveries (187) in the squad as well as having the second-highest combined total of tackles and interceptions (93).
This shows how capable the midfielder is playing regularly at the top-flight level in and out of possession and why he has a number of clubs looking to take him away from St. Mary’s and back to the Premier League.
From City’s point of view, if they aren’t currently interested in signing him, this suggests that they may not see him as being in with a chance of being as prominent for them as he has been for Southampton, which could make it better for all parties if they don’t look to bring him back to the Etihad this summer.
