In one of the more surprising moves of the summer transfer window, Romeo Lavia is set to join Chelsea from Southampton.

It had looked like the 19-year-old would be joining Liverpool, with the Reds bidding multiple times to secure his services as they seek to revamp their midfield this summer following the departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho. They finally agreed a fee with the Saints worth £60 million, but after Moises Caicedo chose Chelsea over a move to Merseyside, Lavia did the same thing, opting for a move to west London.

According to Sky Sports, the Belgian midfielder will move to Stamford Bridge for a fee worth up to £58 million. He represents Chelsea’s eighth venture into the transfer market this summer, and will likely play a supporting role in midfield alongside the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Caicedo.

At just 19, Lavia is seen by many as someone with bags of potential. He had an impressive season in the Premier League with Southampton last year, and his quality has not gone unnoticed. His Belgium teammate Kevin De Bruyne has said he could be “a top player.”

But hard work will be required if the young talent is to realise that potential and go down as one of the best Belgians to ever grace the league. The country has produced several stars who have graced English football, the likes of De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, and many more.

So, with Lavia’s move to Chelsea now close to being completed, the team at GIVEMESPORT thought we would rank the 12 best Belgians to ever play in the Premier League. Might it only be a few years till we see the Blues’ new signing crack this list?

12 Thomas Vermaelen

We’re starting off with a former Arsenal captain. Vermaelen joined the Gunners from Ajax in 2009 and spent five years in England, helping his side triumph in the FA Cup in 2014. He departed for Barcelona in the summer of that year after 150 appearances for the north London club. By no means a club legend, but still a solid defender on his best day.

11 Divock Origi

Liverpool fans might feel like their club icon deserves to be slightly higher for some of the goals he scored during his stay at Anfield, but Origi’s status as a squad player limits how high he can rank on this list. Nevertheless, there were some iconic goals during his four-year stay at Merseyside, including that famous one against Barcelona in the Champions League.

All in all, he managed 41 goals in 175 appearances for the Reds, with Jurgen Klopp describing the striker as, “a Liverpool legend” by the time he left the club. That status is up for debate, but what’s not is whether he features on this list.

10 Youri Tielemans

Leicester City fans will tell you just how good Tielemans can be on his day. His spectacular effort against Chelsea in the FA Cup final shows what he has in his locker, and he can be technically brilliant on the ball too.

Now at Aston Villa following the Foxes’ relegation, the midfielder will be hoping that he can add to Villa’s success from last season which saw them qualify for the Europa Conference League. He didn’t get off to the best of starts though, with Newcastle hammering the Villans 5-1 in the opening game of the season.

9 Marouane Fellaini

He might not have been excellent all the time while at Manchester United, but Fellaini was still a decent option for multiple managers who stood in the Old Trafford dugout. He played 177 matches for different bosses during his six seasons at the club, helping them lift a Europa League title and an FA Cup too.

But the reason why Fellaini cracks this list is also because of what he did while at Everton. He was a dynamic box-to-box midfielder for the Toffees, helping out in defence and attack. In his final full season for the club, he bagged 11 goals and six assists as he helped propel them to sixth in the table. What fans would give to have someone like him back at Goodison Park...

8 Mousa Dembélé

If you listen to Dembele’s teammates talk about him, you honestly get the impression that he was one of the best midfielders to ever play the game. Eric Dier called him, “the best footballer I've ever played with,” while Danny Rose called him “unbelievable.”

“How he plays the game he makes it look so easy,” the defender added. “You know which way he's going to go which makes it worse.”

Watching Dembele’s highlights only go to prove their points, with the Belgian so composed on the ball while also being defensively astute. He was integral to Tottenham’s success over seven years, with Spurs nearly getting their hands on a Premier League title in no small part because of Dembele's efforts in the engine room. Having retired from football earlier this year, he certainly fits into the category of Premier League ballers the streets will never forget.

7 Thibaut Courtois

Had we been factoring in a player’s entire career, Courtois would have been much higher in our rankings. He is now one of the best goalkeepers in the world at Real Madrid and has been key to their success ever since joining in 2018. That display in the Champions League final against Liverpool will go down as one of the finest goalkeeping performances ever.

But we’re just looking at their efforts for Premier League clubs, so only Courtois’ four years at Chelsea. That’s not to say he was bad at Stamford Bridge by any means though. He was an excellent shot-stopper, helping the Blues lift two Premier League titles under Mourinho and Antonio Conte. He even picked up the Golden Glove award in the 2016/17 campaign.

6 Toby Alderweireld

Tottenham really did have a core of talented Belgium players in their ranks for several years. And everyone knows that there is one more that is yet to come.

Alderweireld was considered to be one of the best defenders in the league, not just during his spell in north London, but also during his time at Southampton. That loan to the south coast ultimately led to Spurs biting the bullet on him, and what a decision that proved to be.

Two hundred and thirty-six appearances for the Lilywhites followed that move in 2015. The only thing missing was some silverware, with Alderweireld a runner-up in both the League Cup and Champions League with Spurs.

5 Jan Vertonghen

We just couldn’t have Alderweireld on this list without his Tottenham and Belgium centre-back partner next to him. The pair were regular starters at the back for both club and country and built quite the rapport with each other.

Belgium’s record appearance holder made the move to north London in 2012 from Ajax and would go on to captain the side. He was held in high regard by his teammates and coaches, with Mauricio Pochettino hailing him as, "one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League and in Europe” in 2018.

Like Alderweireld, Vertonghen failed to get his hands on any silverware during his time in north London. But he was named in the PFA Team of the Year twice, once in the 2012/13 season and then again in the 2017/18 season. A testament to how good he was.

4 Romelu Lukaku

He might be one of Chelsea’s worst signings ever, but let’s not forget just how good Lukaku was at both Everton and West Bromwich Albion. The striker was absolutely lethal in front of goal for both teams, scoring 87 goals in 166 outings for the Toffees. That’s more than a goal every two games.

While we are focusing on what each player accomplished while in the Premier League, you cannot ignore the fact that Lukaku is Belgium’s all-time top scorer too. His tally of 75 with the Red Devils is some way in front of everybody else.

3 Vincent Kompany

Captain Marvel! It feels wrong to have the current Burnley manager third on this list, mainly because he was just that good for over a decade with Manchester City. But the other two players on the podium were equally as brilliant while in England.

But back to Kompany. The defender provided the bedrock for City’s success in the 2010s, laying the foundations for their dominance under Pep Guardiola. 360 appearances in a sky blue shirt, four Premier League titles, and multiple domestic cups as well, he left the Etihad in 2019 not just as a City legend, but a Premier League icon too.

2 Eden Hazard

The magical winger could quite easily have been number one in this ranking, and to many, that’s exactly where he should be. After all, he was outstanding for several years at Chelsea, weaving in and out of defenders and scoring goals for fun.

Hazard was one of the most fun players to watch because of how he played, but his numbers were not half bad either. His final season at Stamford Bridge was remarkable, with his 16 goals and 15 assists firing the Blues to third. It’s a shame we never got to see that Hazard at Real Madrid.

Why is he not first? Mainly because of consistency. Even Chelsea fans will tell you that Hazard dipped well below what was expected from him in that disastrous season in 2015. Number one simply hasn’t had a year like that.

1 Kevin De Bruyne

City’s maestro just had to be first. De Bruyne might have flopped at Chelsea all those years ago, but he’s looked like a completely different player for years now. Able to create goals at will and spray the ball about the pitch, he is in the conversation as one of the best midfielders ever to play in the English top flight.

He has improved every year since arriving at the Etihad in 2015, and City have improved with him. Now fourth highest in the Premier League assist charts, injuries have become more frequent, unfortunately. But hopefully, we see him back on the pitch soon and balling out once again.