Pep Guardiola has hailed a Premier League midfielder, showing Manchester City can beat Liverpool and Arsenal until his arrest.
Guardiola has some very good options in central midfield. He can use Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri, Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Kalvin Phillips there.
However, City may need to sign a new midfielder or two in the summer transfer window. This is because both Gundogan and Silva could leave Etihad. Gundogan's contract with Man City expires at the end of the season. He is currently considering whether to accept an extension or find a new club, with Barcelona monitoring the situation.
Silva's deal with City runs until June 2025. But he has been open about his desire to take on a new challenge and reports in France say he is a top target for Paris Saint-Germain.
One player Guardiola could pursue if Gundogan and Silva leave is Romeo Lavia. He spent time at City's academy but left for Southampton last summer because Guardiola was unable to give him regular first-team opportunities. According to BBC Sport, Southampton paid £10.5m to sign Lavia, plus a potential £3.5m.
The Belgian has impressed in his first season at St Mary's, although the Saints are in serious danger of relegation.
Lavia's mature performances in the Premier League have attracted interest from a number of top clubs such as Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Man City can sign players before Liverpool and Arsenal
But City have the edge over all of Lavia's other rivals. They have the option to buy him back from Southampton for £40m, although that option won't come into effect until the summer of 2024.
Ahead of City's trip to Southampton on Saturday night, Guardiola was asked about the talented 19-year-old. He said (via the city's official website):
"I'm really impressed with what Romeo has done and what he's doing.
"We've got, and we have an incredible opinion of him. We thought about keeping him, but he probably won't get the minutes he did against Southampton. .
After talking about a number of other young players who recently moved from City to Southampton, Guardiola added:
"(It's been a) good experience to go to the Premier League and play at this young age. Very important."
From what Guardiola said, it is clear that City are monitoring Lavia's development and are impressed with the way he handles senior football.
The teenager is showing he has what it takes to become a reliable midfielder at Prem and so it would make sense for City to re-sign him for £40m. The move would also make it impossible for rivals such as Liverpool, Arsenal and Man Utd to strike deals of their own.
Lavia might be wary of returning to Citizen. After all, the main reason he left in the first place was because he wouldn't get to play as often. However, things will be different next season if Gundogan and Silva leave. Their departure will leave a hole in Guardiola's midfield, a hole that Lavia is capable of filling.
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