Former Chelsea player and coach Jody Morris believes Romeo Lavia brings out the best of Moises Caicedo and is a better ball carrier than Enzo Fernandez.
Lavia arrived at Chelsea from Southampton in a deal worth up to £58m in the summer of 2023, but his first season at Chelsea was ruined by injury.
The 20-year-old was limited to just 32 minutes of action, but thankfully this season he’s been able to feature on a more regular basis.
Morris believes Lavia is a better ball carrier than Fernandez
The Belgian impressed in pre-season and started the first game against Manchester City, but missed the next four league matches after picking up a hamstring injury.
Enzo Maresca took the bold decision to put him back into the starting line-up against Liverpool at the expense of Fernandez and the 20-year-old has started every Premier League game since.
Lavia certainly appears to bring out the best in Caicedo, and he recently stated he’s had a great connection with the Ecuadorian since day one.
The duo are currently Maresca’s first choice midfield pairing and whilst they bring more defensive stability and a better balance to the team, it’s fair to say some creativity is sacrificed.
Whether it will remain the partnership for the rest of the season remains to be seen and with so many games there will be changes, but Morris has admitted he likes the early signs.
“I certainly like the earlier signs of them two together, I feel that Lavia offers a bit of steeliness,” he told talkSPORT as cited on X.com.
“There’s different ways of creating it, and he can carry the ball very well, a lot better than an Enzo can. So you may look at Enzo and think that he can maybe pick a pass, but there’s different ways in which you can break down presses, or you can open up teams, and sometimes Lavia carries the ball.
“I remember against Liverpool, he was going past three or four players, and you’re like, that’s a another way of creating.
“And I’m loving that partnership, but particularly because we’ve missed Lavia for so long, and his injuries and then you’re seeing the best of Caicedo now when them two play together.”