For the latest in our on-going series, we`ve selected Oriol Romeu
Back in July 2011 speculation started to appear that suggested Chelsea were interested in the young Barcelona midfielder, Oriol Romeu.
On 4 August 2011, Chelsea did a deal to bring the player to Stamford Bridge for a fee said to be around the ?5 million mark with the player signing a four-year contract. However, there was also a clause in his contract that gave his former club, Barcelona, the opportunity to have first refusal via buy-back option if he was ever put up for sale by Chelsea, with the clause seeing Barcelona pay various amounts for his services depending upon when he became available.
Romeu made his Chelsea debut on 10 September 2011 coming off the bench in a 2-1 win away to Sunderland. His first start for Chelsea came in the League Cup against Fulham, on 21 September 2011, a game Chelsea on won penalties after it ended 0-0.
The Spaniard made his Champions League debut on 19 0ctober 2011 playing the entire game as Chelsea thrashed Genk 5-0.
Romeu`s first start in the Premier League came on 26 November 2011 in the 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Oriol scored his first goal for Chelsea in his second season with the club, scoring on 25 September 2012, against Wolves in the League Cup, when he scored from the penalty spot.
Sadly, Romeu picked up a knee injury on 11 December 2012 which ruled him out for the remainder of the season.
The following season the Spaniard was sent out on loan to Valencia, in a season-long deal, making his debut in the 3-1 defeat against Real Betis, on 1 September 2013. Unfortunately, another knee injury was to side-line the player, this time for a month. During his time with Valencia, on loan, Romeu played 18 games.
After returning to Chelsea for the 2014 / 2015 season, Romeu put pen-to-paper on a new contract, tying him to Chelsea until 2017. However, another loan move beckoned and the Spaniard was loaned to VfB Stuttgart.
The following season saw Romeu`s Chelsea career come to an end when he was sold, on 13 August 2015, to Southampton, for a fee of £5 million.
Since moving to Southampton, Romeu has flourished and is now recognised as one of the best midfielders of his type in the Premier League.
During his time at Stamford Bridge, Oriol Romeu made 79 appearances and scored 1 goal.
Mini Fact-File – Oriol Romeu
Full Name – Oriol Romeu Vidal
Date of Birth – 24 September 1991
Place of Birth – Ulldecona, Spain
Height – Six feet
Position – Defensive Midfielder
Youth Career – Ulldecona, Espanyol, Barcelona
Playing Career Clubs – Barcelona B, Barcelona, Chelsea, Valencia (loan), Vfb Stuttgart (loan), Southampton
International Honours – Spain U17, U19, U20, U21, U23
If there is anybody of Spanish origin who you would like to see featured in our new series simply send an e-mail to JUVENILED40@HOTMAIL.COM and we`ll do the rest.
Spanish Armada (1) – Asier del Horno
Spanish Armada (2) – Fernando Torres
Spanish Armada (3) – Juan Mata
Spanish Armada (4) – Rafael Benitez
Spanish Armada (5) – Albert Ferrer
Spanish Armada (6) – Quique de Lucas
Spanish Armada (7) – Cesar Azpilicueta
Share this article
