Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has some really talented midfielders in his squad.
Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia all play in the middle of the park and helped Chelsea to beat Aston Villa 3-0 last weekend.
However, Enzo Maresca thinks one of those players still has a lot to work on. The Chelsea boss has been speaking ahead of his side’s trip to St Mary’s later and has confirmed that he will be without Wesley Fofana.
Fofana will miss the Southampton game after picking up a hamstring injury in the victory over Villa.
Romeo Lavia and Head Coach Enzo Maresca of Chelsea during a training session at Chelsea Training Ground on December 3, 2024 in Cobham, England.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Enzo Maresca thinks Romeo Lavia can do better
Lavia will be pleased with how this season is going. After missing practically the whole of the previous campaign because of injury, the 20-year-old is fit again and has already managed to make nine appearances in all competitions.
Lavia has caught the attention of Jody Morris and other former footballers for how he has performed since recovering from injury, but Maresca still thinks that the Belgian can improve.
In his pre-match press conference, which has been relayed by Chelsea’s official website, Maresca said: “Romeo is doing very well with us but because I know him well, he can do much better. I am very happy with Romeo but he can do better because he is a top player. The only thing is he is 20 so has to improve many things. So we are very happy with him, he is doing fantastic but he can improve many things.
“I trust him for sure but Romeo didn’t play against Leicester so two games ago he was on the bench, but because he’s on the bench, that doesn’t mean we’re not happy and he’s not doing well. It’s the game plan that’s changed for the game. We are completely happy with Romeo.”
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Will Romeo Lavia start against Southampton?
Lavia will want to keep his place in the team and play against his former club Southampton later.
But based on what Maresca has said in the past, it would be a bit of a surprise if he featured at all.
Back in October, the Italian stated that he would only use Lavia, Fofana and Reece James once a week because of their injury history.
“A possible solution with Reece is the same solution we are using with Romeo and Wes in terms of using them just once a week and [playing] one game, because probably in this moment for different reasons, Reece’s body cannot play twice a week,” Maresca told reporters and the Chelsea website.
It means Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall could get a run out tonight. The 26-year-old has not made a single start in the Premier League this season and has only played 44 minutes in the competition.
He has now been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge, but it has been claimed that Chelsea want to keep hold of Dewsbury-Hall, having only signed him during the summer.
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