After 20 months, Chelsea have essentially paid £4million per appearance for Romeo Lavia so far. That is without considering his wages. If they were £75,000-per-week then it would be another £6million onto his total cost for the club, taking the figure to £4.5million per match.
Lavia has played less than 650 minutes since his transfer in at the end of August 2023. Almost all of the intervening period have been spent either injured, recovering, or between setbacks.
His longest spell of availability came from October last year to December. It was 10 matches. He started six of those but has managed just over an hour across two outings since.
On Wednesday, Enzo Maresca confirmed that he would be out for the visit of Tottenham. It is not the first time he has suffered a knock during an international break.
It is often a time when players can recover and rest ahead of domestic football returning but for Lavia it has proven too much. This will be his sixth separate absence for Chelsea in less than two years.
Per minute played, his £58million transfer fee has cost the club almost £90,000. That is split from 14 matches in total (11 in the league) and just nine starts. He is yet to complete a full game, has only managed more than 45 minutes seven times, and played more than 75 minutes on one occasion.
This is a damning state of affairs. It is now over two years since his last run of consistent games. That was when he was still at Southampton in a breakout season which convinced Chelsea to battle Liverpool for his signature.
From potentially missing out on Lavia and Moises Caicedo, Chelsea ended up with both. Caicedo has done more than enough running to cover for Lavia, but now the issues of what has so far been an extraordinarily spectacular transfer failure are impossible to ignore.
Lavia is not even being stretched on the pitch like Nicolas Jackson or Cole Palmer, both of who have been asked to play relentlessly since joining without much support. He is breaking down away from competitive action and is in no part a reliable player right now.
Before anything else it is a personal tragedy. Lavia is one of the most promising young players in his position and has a blend of talents - able to dribble or pass out of pressure with solid enough development defending abilities - but has seen his career stall in front of everyone's eyes.
When he has played for Chelsea, Lavia has been a balance in a midfield severely lacking it. He is the foil for Caicedo's tired hamstrings and Enzo Fernandez's lack of physicality. The trio struggle to play together even when fit but Lavia has shown his quality.
The issue is that he is already yesterday's man. Chelsea will welcome Dario Essugo and Andrey Santos (both 20) into the squad for pre-season and they are expected to go straight into the first-team. Kendry Paez has been tipped as a possible alternative to Fernandez - although he is extremely raw and will need a lot of fine-tuning before being trusted in the league.
Lavia could, therefore, find himself as far down as fifth choice in midfield right from the start. The more important thing is just to protect him physically and mentally right now.
Romeo Lavia in action for Chelsea
Romeo Lavia in action for Chelsea against Arsenal (Image: Mark Leech/Offside)
Much like with Reece James, Chelsea have to support Lavia because his years for early improvement are being stripped away. It takes a huge emotional toll to keep going through this and it was seen with James. Only now has he managed to shake off the demons from his body (touch wood) in a four-month stretch of near-complete fitness.
It has taken James three years to get to this stage after his first major injury. Lavia has played considerably less than James at the same age, though, and has fewer matches to fall back on. He has one full senior season to his name, given that each of the last two have been effective write-offs.
Because of this, Lavia has to be shielded and looked after. The ripple effects of his problems will remain.
Chelsea January insistence that there was enough to cope without him until a planned return with 10 games left will be tested. They backed Caicedo and Fernandez to continue doing most of the heavy lifting for three months with Mathis Amougou hardly considered as a first-team player at all and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall only slightly better off.
Young duo Kiano Dyer and Sam Rak-Sakyi have been offered some minor opportunities but not enough to now be thrust into the intense run-in of a top-five battle. No, it will be Chelsea's £100million men left to do the job again. Caicedo will do the leg work whilst Fernandez attempts to pass forward with some zip and spark.
The worry is that Caicedo remains one yellow card away from a two-match suspension. The cut-off for reaching 10 bookings is not until after week 32, which is still three games away. Caicedo has done well to make it this far, but he is one of the most eager tackles and ball-winners around. That comes with the risk of punishment.
When Chelsea started to flag in late-December and early January it was decided that neither Santos or Lesley Ugochukwu (both on loan) were needed. Amougou was the only reinforcement and he is a placeholder on the bench. During the transfer window it looked like a brave (or foolish) call and that has only been exacerbated since.
Caicedo has picked up six yellow cards in 13 Chelsea matches in 2025, five from 10 in the league, and is now on the brink of a ban at a crucial time. Had there been another able body to offer him some rest or respite then his own flagging state might have improved.
This now in the past and Maresca has to deal with the hand that he has been dealt. Looking beyond the end of the season and Chelsea will need to find a resolution with Lavia. Does he warrant a loan move away where he can try to get minutes and first-team action away from the immediate pressure of Chelsea? It worked for Ruben Loftus-Cheek when he went through a series of injury troubles.
This is a £58million player being discussed, though. Ultimately that has to be left out of the equation. Lavia is a player unable to complete the required demands currently and he must be treated in that manner. For his benefit and the club's, this nightmare must be remedied somehow.
football.london Chelsea WhatsApp channel
Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Want to keep up to date with the breaking and important Chelsea stories whilst on the move? Well now you can!
Click this link to follow the football.london Chelsea WhatsApp channel, where you'll be kept up to date on the latest Blues news wherever you are.
Just remember to turn on the notifications once you've followed, and you won't miss a beat!