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“I think he is one of the best midfielders I have ever played with…Everybody’s not seen it because he’s been injured, but…I think everyone will realize it soon…I think he will be one of the best midfielders in the world.” Chelsea’s playmaking superstar Cole Palmer does not have the reputation of being a man of many words, yet he was nothing short of effusive in his praise for defensive midfield conductor Romeo Lavia.
After ex-GFA Communications Director Ibrahim Saanie Daara posted on X that he had received an email from a Belgian dual-national keen on switching allegiances to the Black Stars, social media channels blew up with speculation that Lavia may be the player yearning to drape the red-gold-green in North America next summer.
Who exactly is Romeo Lavia? And could he play for Ghana at the World Cup next year?
Romeo Lavia was born on 6th January 2004 in Brussels, Belgium to a Ghanaian father and a Congolese mother. Lavia was raised in Belgium throughout his childhood and his first venture into football came with grassroots club SC Woluwe. He later joined Belgian giants Anderlecht where he starred in youth competitions such as the KDB Cup, drawing interest from top clubs around Europe.
Manchester City made that interest concrete in 2020/21 and snapped him up for an undisclosed figure. Lavia wasted no time imposing his will on the field, commanding both the U18 and U21 City youth teams to their respective league titles with imperious midfield performances alongside the likes of Cole Palmer and Liam Delap.
Such was Lavia’s impact that when City academy director Joe Shields was appointed Head of Recruitment of Southampton F.C, one of his first moves was to bring a teenage Lavia to the South Coast for €22.26M. Lavia had not even made a senior appearance at this juncture.
Despite that and Southampton’s eventual relegation, he proved to be well worth the outlay. He impressed so much that Chelsea and Liverpool entered a transfer tug-of-war over him, with Chelsea eventually triumphant in their €62.10M bid to bring him to London just a year after he joined Southampton. Lavia has since become a world champion with the Blues.Remove AdsRemove Ads
What makes Lavia so special? Why does Cole Palmer rate him so highly? Why were Southampton and Chelsea willing to part with so much money for seemingly untested talent? The answer lies in Lavia’s profile. All footballers come with their flaws, and it is rare to find a defensive midfielder who is able to break up and progress play adroitly. Lavia does both with aplomb, as the statistics testify to. In per 90-minute comparisons across all midfielders in Europe’s top 5 leagues, Lavia ranks in the 99thpercentile for passes blocked, 97th percentile for aerials won, 96th percentile for interceptions, 88thpercentile for shot creating action from a defensive action, 87th percentile for tackles in the midfield third and total tackles and interceptions. He also ranks in the 98th percentile for long pass completion percentage and least miscontrols, 96th percentile for pass completion percentage, 95th percentile for medium range pass completion percentage, 94th percentile for successful take-on percentage, 93rd percentile for total successful take-ons and non-penalty expected goal per shot. He is a truly extraordinary midfielder who oozes equanimity in possession and steel out of it when fit. But he is rarely fit. In fact, after a season with Southampton where his 2,492 minutes saw him end the season as the U20 player with the most minutes played in the Premier League, Lavia has missed 77 possible games in just two seasons through injury.
This is the primary reason Lavia has a solitary cap for the Belgian Red Devils. It came in a substitute appearance in a friendly match against Germany in March 2023. As Belgian head coach Dominic Tedesco has attested to himself in press conference, Lavia has been called up for Belgium for competitive fixtures but has had to withdraw from the squad as they “didn’t want to risk him.” Otherwise, Lavia would by all indication be a formidable partner for either Amadou Onana or Youri Tielemans in the Belgian midfield pivot supporting Kevin De Bruyne. With Lavia yet to make a competitive appearance for the Red Devils, Ghana might be sniffing an opportunity to pull off one of the greatest national team player heists in history. According to the FIFA regulations regarding national team eligibility, Lavia is currently free to switch nationality to Ghana due to his patrilineal roots to his motherland and lack of appearances for his adopted country.
Whether Romeo Lavia would heed the call of the Black Stars should it come is another question altogether. But Ghanaians do indeed have the right to dream. After all, what is life without hope?
Source: Nene Afadzinu
3news
