#14 Oriol ROMEU
Former clubs:
FC Barcelona, FC Barcelona B, Chelsea, Valencia CF, VfB Stuttgart
Early years
Oriol Romeu Vidal was born in Ulldecona, a town in the South of Catalonia on 25th September 1991.
He began his youth career with RCD Espanyol at the age of ten, spending three seasons with the club before moving to their rivals - Spanish giants FC Barcelona.
A tall, commanding defensive midfielder, Romeu made a real impression in the Barcelona youth set-up and subsequently earned a call-up to the Spanish Under-17s side in 2007.
He made five appearances in total at Under-17 level, winning the U17 UEFA European Championship in 2008. Ahead of the 2008/09 campaign, Romeu joined Barcelona’s B team, who had just won promotion to the Segunda Division B (the third tier of Spanish football).
Under Luis Enrique, now the manager of the Barcelona first-team, Romeu made five appearances as Barcelona B finished fifth in the table.
The following year, Romeu became a regular for Barcelona’s reserve side, making 22 appearances and helping Enrique’s men win promotion to the second tier of Spanish football thanks to a second-placed finish.
Romeu’s international progress continued, winning a place in the Team of the Tournament at the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship as Spain finished runners-up in France.
Barca breakthrough
His 2010/11 campaign began in the best way possible - a debut for the first-team. Romeu started for Pep Guardiola’s side in their Spanish Super Cup first-leg defeat to Sevilla.
Romeu missed out on a place in the team for the second leg, which Barcelona won 4-0 to lift the trophy, but the seeds had been sewn for the then 18 year-old.
Back with the B team, Romeu made 18 league appearances, scoring his first club goal as they finished third in the second division.
Guardiola, who had already seen his side crowned La Liga champions, rewarded Romeu for his form in the reserve side with his league debut in their penultimate game of the 2010/11 season against Deportivo La Coruna at Camp Nou.
Switching Barca for the Bridge
His breakthrough at Barca prompted Chelsea to show a keen interest in the midfielder, and while on international duty at the 2011 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, he signed a four-year contract with the London-based outfit.
Romeu made his official debut for Chelsea on 10th September 2011, coming on as a substitute in their 2-1 win away at Sunderland, before making his first start in a penalty shootout win against Fulham in the Capital One Cup.
The midfielder made 24 appearances in all competitions, including three in the group stages of the Champions League as Chelsea won the competition courtesy of a penalty shootout win against Bayern Munich, for which he was an unused substitute.
He also appeared twice as a substitute in the FA Cup as Chelsea lifted the trophy thanks to a 2-1 win against Liverpool in the final at Wembley.
Following his successful first season with Chelsea, Romeu was named in Spain’s squad for the 2012 London Olympics, but could not prevent Spain from finishing bottom of their group.
Back at the Bridge, Romeu scored his first goal for the Blues in early September the following season, slotting home a penalty in a 6-0 win against Wolves.
A serious knee injury in December curtailed Romeu’s hopes of featuring on a regular basis during the second half of the season, with Chelsea ending the campaign as Europa League winners.
Away from England
Following his return to fitness, Romeu headed back to Spain as he joined Valencia CF on a season-long loan for the 2013/14 campaign. Romeu played 18 times in total for the Spanish side, who finished eighth in La Liga.
After signing a new contract with Chelsea to keep him at the club until 2017, Romeu headed to Germany for a loan spell with VfB Stuttgart last season.
The Spaniard featured 27 times in the Bundesliga, helping the German side avoid relegation by a single point.
Back to the Premier League
Romeu joined Saints in the summer of 2015 on a three-year contract from Chelsea.
The Spaniard competed with the likes of Victor Wanyama and Jordy Clasie for a starting spot, contributing two goals over the course of the season – against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup and Aston Villa in the Premier League.
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