Roméo Lavia (born 6 January 2004) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea and the Belgium national team.
A product of Anderlecht's academy, he made his professional debut for Premier League side Manchester City in 2021, before being signed by Southampton in 2022.
The Spanish trainer was there on invitation of his Manchester City player Kevin De Bruyne who is co-organiser of this tournament that also bears his name, the KDB Cup.
Lavia made his professional debut at the age of seventeen on 21 September 2021, in the third round of the 2021–22 EFL Cup against Wycombe Wanderers, where he received a yellow card.
[16] Due to the protracted transfer saga, Lavia was lagging behind his teammates in terms of conditioning, as manager Mauricio Pochettino stated that the midfielder "needs a few weeks to be ready to be involved with the team".
[19] Lavia made his Chelsea debut on 27 December 2023, coming on as a substitute during a 2–1 Premier League home win over Crystal Palace.
[22] Lavia started his first game for Chelsea on 18 August 2024, in the opening match of the Premier League 2024–25 season against the reigning champions Manchester City.
[27] On 17 March 2023, he received his first call-up to the Belgian senior national team by manager Domenico Tedesco, for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against Sweden and the friendly against Germany.
According to Anderlecht's head of academy Jean Kindermans, Lavia's best position is a deep-lying playmaker, as "he can deliver passes and is always calm on the ball".