Manchester City are reportedly interested in bringing hot prospect Rafael Leao to the Etihad Stadium.
08.10.2022 - 00:43 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Manchester City knew Romeo Lavia's potential when they sold him to Southampton this summer.
City could not turn down £14m for a player who wanted to play regular Premier League football. But they knew that there was a chance that he could, as Pep Guardiola put it, "explode" when he started playing regularly.
That is why they inserted clauses into the deal to protect them — a 20 per cent sell on of any future sale, the ability to match any offer, and an unspecified amount to buy him back. What the Blues never expected was for any of those clauses to be tested in the same summer that they sold him.
Also read: Everything Guardiola said in his latest City press conference
But, after Lavia scored in a thumping Southampton win over Chelsea the West London club made a last-gasp bid to sign the teenager themselves and offered at least £40m.
Ultimately, City did not have to make a decision because Saints rejected the bid. However, it was a sharp reminder that Lavia's connected with the Blues did not end this summer and that another call will be needed at some point down the line.
Lavia was one of four players bought by Southampton after they appointed City's academy supremo Joe Shields to be their head of senior recruitment, with the south coast club spending over £45m in total on Gavin Bazunu, Sam Edozie, and Juan Larios as well as Lavia. If it can look a gamble to spend considerable sums on untested potential, Shields in banking on the quality that he knows shining through.
They arrive at the Etihad on Saturday with manager Ralph Hasenhuttl facing more pressure, with that Chelsea win one of just two victories in their first eight league matches. Guardiola knows how much trouble this opponent has caused his team though,
Manchester City are reportedly interested in bringing hot prospect Rafael Leao to the Etihad Stadium.
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