Chelsea midfielder raises doubts over his readiness to be a starter
Chelsea midfielder struggling to impress
Romeo Lavia’s display against Wolves showed his present struggle. The number of his passes looks solid, but almost every pass was sideways and resulted in nothing to help progress Chelsea. This is not what Chelsea need from their midfielders.
His error that gave Wolves their goal only added to the frustration of watching Lavia’s performance. Meanwhile, his numbers might suggest control, but there’s a lack of real influence. In a side built around quick transitions and sharp movements, he looked off the pace. His defense wasn’t helpful at all, in fact, it contributed negatively. He was too frequently out of position, brought in too late for tackles. He lost very important moments to get the ball back as well.
Time to reconnect with his strengths
Lavia’s best trait has always been his ability to drive through the middle with the ball, breaking lines and creating space. That spark was missing completely. The lack of that forward intention makes him a background player instead of a playmaker.
It is quite normal that he needs to adjust his game after the injuries, but the top class players do not get any credit for being slow to recover from injury. Maresca finds himself in a pretty difficult situation right now. Meanwhile, Andrey Santos really fighting for a place as well. He is showing more of the right attitude and determination.
If Lavia is to remain a contender, he has to go back to the very reason why he was noticed. That is, being energetic, doing fearless dribbling, and having excellent awareness.
Author’s opinion:
Lavia undoubtedly possesses great talent but talent by itself does not assure playing time. He has to enhance his concentration, play with the same faith as before. He has to bring back that quality which was the hallmark of his game.
As featured on Chelseanews.com