Romeo Lavia Chelsea
Romeo Lavia Chelsea | Premier League News Now
A leading Belgian commentator says Romeo Lavia is now the only Belgian footballer in the world’s top 30, and good enough to play for Real Madrid, Barcelona or PSG.
Filip Joos made the claim after Romeo Lavia ran the midfield in Chelsea‘s 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The Chelsea midfielder has finally put a long run of injuries behind him, and the praise is no longer coming only from England.
Back home, Joos now rates him as Belgium’s best player, and he went further than most by ranking him among the top five in the world in his position.
How Lavia started the move for the opening goal
The first half against Manchester United finished goalless. After the break, Lavia won the ball back in midfield and fed Morgan Rogers about 35 yards from goal. Rogers skipped past two United players, Harry Maguire among them, before lifting the ball over Senne Lammens, and Cole Palmer added the second.
That interception was the moment most people picked out, but it was only part of the display. Lavia sprayed passes across the pitch all afternoon and gave Xabi Alonso’s side defensive strength too. The win lifted Chelsea back into the top four.
‘He could play for Real Madrid, Barcelona or PSG’
Joos was full of it when he spoke to 90 Minutes. “I believe that, among our current Belgian footballers, he is the only one who is currently in the world’s top 30,” he said. “In his position, he’s top five. Honestly, he could play for Real Madrid, Barcelona or PSG. That ball he played in the second half with the outside of his right boot, it’s devastating. He sees everything.”
He also had a joke ready for the razor makers. “If you’re the boss at Gillette and you’re still using David Beckham because of his smooth skin, get rid of him! You should sign Lavia for his ‘razor-sharp’ passes. Every single pass is like a razor.”
Would he have won a World Cup with the Golden Generation?
Joos thinks so. “If Lavia had been born 10 or 15 years earlier, we would have won the World Cup with our ‘Golden Generation’,” he said. “That was the one position where we lacked someone with a 10-metre field of vision. Lavia has a 70-metre field of vision. He could spot the squirrels in the cemetery next to Stamford Bridge.”
Why is Romeo Lavia finally playing like this?
Fitness is the obvious answer. Lavia’s time at Stamford Bridge has been wrecked by hamstring, thigh and ankle problems, with more than 500 days out and nearly 80 matches missed in total.
Joos believes the mental side matters just as much. “A real weight has been lifted off his shoulders,” he said. “That smile says it all.” He also read something into Lavia being kept on the pitch: “The very fact that they left him on the field was the finest kind of ovation.”
It ties in with the debate around Alonso’s midfield. A Blues legend recently argued that Chelsea should sort out Caicedo and Lavia before chasing a new midfielder in January, and Saturday was a strong answer on Lavia’s side of that argument. Our Chelsea predicted lineup vs Manchester United set out the midfield questions Alonso faced before kick-off.
Verdict: Lavia’s fitness is Chelsea’s best signing
World’s top 30 and a World Cup with the Golden Generation is a commentator getting carried away, and Joos half admits it with the squirrels line. But the core of it is hard to argue with. When Lavia is fit, Chelsea play through midfield with a calm that very few teams in the league have.
The only question is the one that has followed him since he arrived: can he stay on the pitch? If he can, Alonso does not need to go shopping for a midfielder in January. He already has one.