---
title: "Profit Players: Oriol Romeu and Southampton"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/profit-players-oriol-romeu-and-southampton/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Callum Pragnell"
section: "Features"
published: "2019-09-25T14:20:01Z"
modified: "2019-09-25T14:20:01Z"
---

# Profit Players: Oriol Romeu and Southampton

![](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Profit-Players-1.png)

**This article forms part of our *Profit Players* feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has turned out since being signed/sold and using statistical figures and statements from key figures to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.**

Having started all eight of Southampton’s fixtures in all competitions this season, Oriol Romeu is now one of the first names on the team-sheet at St Mary’s. The Spaniard spent [four years](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/oriol-romeu/profil/spieler/66100) at Chelsea after leaving Barcelona in 2011, but failed to nail down a regular starting spot at Stamford Bridge, so had to look elsewhere for game-time.

Well, that is exactly what he has found at Saints upon his move to Hampshire for £6.03m (per [Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/oriol-romeu/transfers/spieler/66100)) in 2015. [161 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/oriol-romeu/profil/spieler/66100) later and Romeu is now an established Premier League centre-midfielder, and his performances on the south coast just continue to improve.

This season, the 28-year-old has averaged 4.3 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, 2 dribbles and 1 key pass per game (via [WhoScored](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/90780/History/Oriol-Romeu)). Furthermore, he has also averaged 49.2 passes per match – 14 more than he managed last term – whilst also registering 2.7 successful long balls per game, 0.9 more than he averaged last season.

[WhoScored](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/90780/Fixtures/Oriol-Romeu) have also awarded Romeu a rating of above 7/10 for his last three Premier League performances, while he was again influential on Tuesday night as the Saints defeated fierce rivals Portsmouth 4-0 in the Carabao Cup, a game in which the Spaniard was praised heavily by sections of support online (via [HITC](https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2019/09/25/southampton-fans-twitter-oriol-romeu-display-against-portsmouth/)).

The former Barcelona man registered a passing accuracy of 86.1% at Fratton Park, while making two tackles and three clearances for his side as they kept a clean sheet away from home (via [WhoScored](https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1426719/LiveStatistics/England-League-Cup-2019-2020-Portsmouth-Southampton)).

Romeu is a leader in the heart of Southampton’s midfield; he is not afraid to get stuck into the tackle – proven by his [47 yellow cards](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/oriol-romeu/leistungsdatenverein/spieler/66100) during the previous four years on the south coast – and has actually seen his value rise on [Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/oriol-romeu/transfers/spieler/66100) to an impressive [£9m](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/oriol-romeu/transfers/spieler/66100). Indeed, after such service under a number of different managers, the decision to bring him to Southampton almost half a decade ago now looks like incredibly smart business.

At 28 years of age, Romeu still has plenty of years left in him in the top-flight. Bought for just £6.3m four years ago, his value on [Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/oriol-romeu/profil/spieler/66100) has now risen to £9m, though there is a good chance that fee would rise even further should he actually move away from St Mary’s in the near future.

***Saints fans, how impressed have you been with Romeu in recent seasons? Let us know by commenting below!***