Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia has been ruled out for a number of weeks after suffering a muscle injury in the Champions League, and it could impact the club’s transfer plans moving forward
Manchester United approached Chelsea over the summer to enquire about the availability of Romeo Lavia. However, the 21-year-old midfielder was never on offer from the Stamford Bridge hierarchy.
Lavia’s future in west London seemed uncertain at the end of last season following an injury he sustained at the Club World Cup. The former Manchester City prospect, who was signed by the Blues from Southampton for £53m in August 2023, missed the remainder of the tournament due to a muscle strain.
He seemed to have overcome his issues, starting three of the first four games in the United States. Having missed a significant part of the domestic season, making just 11 starts in the Premier League, this setback raised doubts about his dependability.
football.london now reports that Chelsea kept faith in the Belgium international, who is under contract until June 2030. Meanwhile, the Blues pursued Alejandro Garnacho from United, with Enzo Maresca eventually securing his signature at the end of August in a deal worth a mere £40m.
They report that Man United enquired about Lavia during the summer, but Chelsea never made him available. United did express interest in Christopher Nkunku, who AC Milan later snapped up for £36m.
Until he suffered another injury earlier this month, Lavia seemed to be repaying the faith shown in him by the Club World Cup champions. Before picking up a muscle injury during Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Qarabag in the UEFA Champions League, the midfielder had made six appearances across all competitions.
Lavia had impressed onlookers, playing a key role as the Blues secured victories against Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur. He now faces another period on the sidelines, potentially ruling him out of upcoming fixtures against Barcelona, Arsenal and Newcastle United.
Addressing journalists in Baku, Maresca shared his initial reaction to the setback. The Italian commented: “We feel a shame for him, especially for him. He’s not able to be fit for a long, long period.
“We will see now. It’s too early to understand what kind of injury. I think it’s his quad.”
Later, during the pre-match media briefing before Chelsea’s encounter with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Maresca characterised the injury as ‘painful’. The Blues head coach was conscious of the gamble involved in fielding Lavia, drawing parallels with Reece James’ circumstances.
Ahead of the lengthy journey to Azerbaijan, he had outlined his strategy for the midfielder. Maresca explained: “The main target for Romeo now is to be fit. Don’t get any injuries.
“For me, at this moment, Romeo is where Reece was, more or less, one year ago, in terms of being being back after a long time. We need to manage him every minute, every day, every second.
“And the target with him is just to keep him fit. So, he’s training with us. He’s OK. He’s 100% fit.
“But, we need to be very careful with him because we don’t want him to be out again, and finally, he can enjoy being a football player.”
Maresca further commented: “In the Forest game, we planned for him 45 minutes. Then Ajax, I think he played one hour, 70 minutes. The other day against Tottenham, when he was on, he was very good.
“We are happy with Romeo. We are happy with the way he’s progressing. And the only thing we want is to keep him fit. So, I would like to have Romeo inside the pitch always. But it’s my duty to try to protect him also.”
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