Southampton bolster midfield with signing of Chelsea star Oriol Romeu

Southampton have made another big step in building a strong squad by signing promising Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu for a fee rumoured to be £5million.

The 23-year-old Spaniard enjoyed a spell in the Blues first team after joining the London club from Barcelona in 2011. However, after recovering from a serious knee injury, Romeu struggled to get into the Chelsea first team reckoning and sent the last two seasons on loan at European giants Valencia and Stuttgart.

During his time at former clubs, Romeu has won the 2010-11 La Liga with Barcelona and the FA Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League with Chelsea. He has also represented Spain up to under-21 level and also featured in his country's 2012 Olympics squad.

With first team chances at a strong Chelsea side limited, Romeu has credited Ronald Koeman and Southampton's positive reputation as the key reason why he opted to join the Saints.

Romeu said: "It’s very good to be a part of this club. I was looking for a good club and for something new in my career.

"After spending two years on loan, I needed something permanent and a club with a future – and I think I chose the right one.

"Southampton are doing the right things in the last few years and, once they came to me and asked me to come here, from the first day I was hoping to come.

"Now I just want to keep going and to keep developing as a player, and I’m looking forward to start playing as soon as possible."