Cole Palmer believes Chelsea fans will see how good Romeo Lavia really is next season having missed pretty much the whole of the last campaign through injury.
Whilst Palmer couldn’t have dreamt of a better season, things couldn’t have gone much worse for Lavia with injuries limiting him to just 32 minutes of football for the Blues.
Lavia joined last summer from relegated Southampton with Chelsea beating off competition from Liverpool to sign the talented Belgian for a total package of £58m.
Palmer tells Chelsea fans they will see how good Lavia is next season
There were high expectations for the midfielder upon his arrival, having really stood out for a struggling Southampton side, and he particularly impressed in both games against the Blues in the 2022/2023 campaign, as the Saints completed a double over Chelsea.
The 20-year-old will be hoping to play a much bigger role under incoming manager Enzo Maresca, who he knows well having played under him during his time at the Manchester City academy.
The Blues have got a hugely talented squad, and Maresca who has agreed a five year deal with the club to take over from the departed Mauricio Pochettino is the man tasked with getting the most out of them.
In fact star performer Palmer has singled Lavia out as one player, who when Chelsea fans see him properly next season will think he’s really good.
“One person I’ve played with [who is good] is Romeo Lavia,” Palmer told Sport Bible.
“We’ve not seen him this season because he’s been injured for a full year but I think he’s one that, when he gets playing everyone will think, ‘Oh, he’s really good.'”
Palmer and Lavia played together under Maresca in the City academy where the Italian guided the under-21 side to the Premier League 2 title for the first time in their history.
Lavia will be desperate to put this disastrous campaign behind him and show the Chelsea fans what he can do, and maybe working under a manager who knows him well is exactly what he needs.
