Romeo Lavia has been included in Manchester City’s Champions League squad at the age of just 17, which has got many fans talking.
The Belgian midfielder is extremely highly-rated at the club, and Pep Guardiola has previously admitted that the youngster will be training in parts with the first team this season
City beat a host of their Premier League rivals to sign the 17-year-old in the summer of 2020, and he has enjoyed a superb first season in England.
He made a huge impression on academy staff having played a key role in the club’s Under-23s winning the Premier League 2 title.
Aged just 16 when he moved to England, many expected Lavia to spend the majority of his first season representing the U18s, but by November he had made his first start for Enzo Maresca’s reserve side and has gone onto be named in the XI for each of their 11 games in 2021.
It was therefore no surprise to see The Telegraph report City are set to promote Lavia to Pep Guardiola’s first team for next season, and the club have now included the youngster in their squad for the Champions League group stages.
The Blues have had to submit a list of players to UEFA following the end of the transfer window in Europe ahead of the start of the Champions League groups, with RB Leipzig visiting the Etihad on September 15.
City List A: Ederson, Steffen, Carson, Walker, Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Stones, Ake, Zinchenko, Rodri, Fernandinho, Lavia, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Grealish, Jesus, Mahrez, Bernardo, Sterling, Jesus
Lavia can play at centre-back, but it seems his long-term future lies in defensive midfield, which is convenient timing when considering Fernandinho will finally leave Manchester next year, which would leave just Rodri to lead the way in that position.
The news was shared on Twitter by City Xtra and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters.
yessss absolute baller 🤩
— daniel (@1894blueSwiftie) September 3, 2021
Wow, so happy for him he’s defo gonna be something special when he’s older
— ¹⁰ (@SxrgioSZN) September 3, 2021
Already got our own Ferna replacement
— ً (@MCFCAJ10) September 3, 2021
Honestly he’s gonna kill it for Dortmund then PSG
— see you soon @mancity (@ManCityKD) September 3, 2021
This is wonderful
— Ant (@BernardoTouch) September 3, 2021
That’s actually brilliant. Special special player
— 7 💫 (@MCFCHag) September 3, 2021
Class young talent. Hope he gets his chance to prove himself in the first team
— Aaron🇪🇸🌶 (@FerranProp) September 3, 2021
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