West Ham United Tipped To Land This Southampton Ace: What Will He Bring To East London? | OneFootball

In a recent interview with Sky Sports (via HITC), Jay Bothroyd tipped West Ham United to land Southampton ace Romeo Lavia this summer. Bothroyd said,

“I like Lavia as well.

“I know other clubs have been talking about him as well. He is a good young player.

“If you sign him, he is going to be expensive, but the way I would look at it. You can buy, he does well, then you can sell him for even more, so it could be an investment, in the end.

“West Ham are a great club, they lost a great player in Declan Rice. But those two players (Ward-Prowse and Lavia) are the ones I would be looking at if I was West Ham.”

Lavia’s Solid Season At Southampton Recently

The Brussels-born talent was a capable presence at the centre of Southampton’s midfield last season when he put in a series of solid displays in the Premier League. Lavia scored one goal and secured one assist in 35 appearances for the Saints in the previous campaign across all competitions.

The 19-year-old offered decent protection for his teammates at the back by averaging 2.1 tackles, 1.1 interceptions, 0.8 clearances and 1.0 dribbles per game in the Premier League. He was even accurate when interchanging possession with his teammates from midfield after making 86.4% of his attempted passes in the English top-flight (stats via whoscored).

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – MAY 21: Pascal Gross of Brighton & Hove Albion is challenged by Romeo Lavia of Southampton during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton FC at American Express Community Stadium on May 21, 2023 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

What Will Lavia Bring To West Ham United?

Lavia is a tough-tackling midfielder who can make a few timely interceptions for his team inside his half. He usually clears his lines when the opposition are on the front foot and can make a few lively runs with the ball as well from midfield.

At 19, the Belgian talent has already got some Premier League experience under his belt and won’t take any time to settle into life at West Ham if David Moyes can devise a way to win the race for his services this summer.

We can expect Lavia to bring more bite and steel to Moyes’ midfield department. He might even help the East London club compete for a top-half finish in the Premier League next season. All in all, Lavia would be an excellent signing for the Hammers in the long run and would serve as a good replacement for Declan Rice at the London Stadium.