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Jurgen Klopp Signs A Contract Extension at Liverpool (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT)
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“He’s one of the best midfielders I’ve played with, to be honest. Not everybody’s seen it, but obviously I knew him at City. Everyone will realise it soon. I think he will be one of the best midfielders in the world.”
Big words from Palmer, which at the time seemed rather unfounded. Lavia had failed to justify his big transfer fee, let alone put weight behind Palmer’s comments. But this season, he is finally doing that.
His performances for Chelsea are improving with every minute, and during the break with Belgium, he was excellent. He’s been told he could win the Ballon d’Or, and even Zinedine Zidane was left impressed.
Lavia’s assist for Belgium against France was a pure moment of genius, but also a sign that this is a player who is finally rediscovering confidence. With that confidence, he can finally start to prove Palmer right.
What is Chelsea’s best midfield pairing right now?
Alonso has been using a 3-4-2-1 system, but if he changes, it is widely accepted that he would revert to a 4-2-3-1 formation. Both line-ups use a double pivot; Lavia has started four of five league games so far.
According to Liam Twomey, Alonso’s best double pivot is Moises Caicedo and Reece James. But James has hardly impressed in midfield. The combination of Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson didn’t work.
There is a limit to simply picking midfielders based on their quality. Their confidence and mindset is also important and right now, no Chelsea midfielder will have the confidence Lavia has. He has to be first pick.