Romeo Lavia will end the 2023/24 campaign earlier after Chelsea announced that he suffered a setback on his injury recovery. The Belgian midfielder suffered a thigh injury in the match against Crystal Palace back in December and has been sidelined since then. It is confirmed that the 20-year old would not feature in The Blues’ nearest agenda against Burnley.
This is a huge blow for Chelsea as they signed Lavia for €62.10m to strengthen the midfield area. Instead, he missed more games than he played as his only appearance this season was against Crystal Palace, playing only 32 minutes after coming on for Ian Maatsen.
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Romeo Lavia has disappointed his Mauricio Pochettino
Romeo Lavia is one of the players who were criticised by Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino apart from Christopher Nkunku. The Argentinian coach has noticed that he is not trying enough to be the team’s first pick.
‘They need to train really hard every day, because they need to have an impact every time they go onto the pitch,” Pochettino said via Metro. “It’s not pre-season games. For many things it is an excuse, for many it is, ‘I want to play, if I cannot play I cannot perform’ – you need to understand, but players need to understand it is not charity to play.
“We need to win. The environment of the player also are disappointed. I am disappointed to have a player who should be important for us not playing.”
Lavia was one of the hot prospects back in the summer as Chelsea and Liverpool fought for his signature. The Blues eventually won the race after proposing a staggering price tag, something that both Brighton and the player could not refuse.
Others have criticized Romeo Lavia too
Chelsea also won the race for Moises Caicedo in the summer against Liverpool. Former Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit highlighted how Liverpool got away with a “transfer scam” looking at what they have shown so far this season.
“Caicedo signed for Chelsea when he was linked with Liverpool, just like Romeo Lavia,” the 1998 World Cup winner said. ‘I’m not going to say anything stupid but we all know why they went to Chelsea. Sportingly, the best decision right now would be to go to Liverpool.
“If I am Caicedo or Lavia, I’m going to Liverpool instead of Chelsea because I can’t see a clear plan for what is going on at Chelsea.”
Liverpool ended up signing Wataru Endo who has been reliable under Jurgen Klopp’s supervision. With Lavia not fit, Chelsea still will have to rely on the likes of Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Connor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Cesare Casadei.