Throughout the past months, LondonsFirst have reported that Chelsea hold an interest in Romeo Lavia from Southampton, led by Joe Shields.
An all action midfielder, Lavia at only 19 years of age has become Southampton’s prized asset since joining in the summer of 2022 from Manchester City for a fee of around £12.5m including add ons.
One year later, Lavia looks set to leave and is said to be available for around £40-50m.
So with this being said, what is it that makes Romeo Lavia so desirable and why should Chelsea look to bring him to Stamford Bridge this summer?
Lavia’s Play Style :
Romeo Lavia excels in the defensive aspects of the game, his ability to win duels in midfield are what make him a good fit for Chelsea going forwards. Lavia completes 2.43 tackles per 90, 1.34 interceptions per 90, 1.9 blocks per 90 and 0.93 clearances per 90.
His ability to perform defensive actions at a high rate make him a great option to partner Enzo Fernandez in midfield, unleashing the more creative, forward thinking side of Enzo that everyone is so excited about.
Lavia has also made 187 ball recoveries and won 137 ground duels this season, playing for Southampton who were relegated and finished 20th in the Premier League. These stats highlight Lavia’s strengths, the ability to win the ball back and break up play in the middle of the field are qualities that the current crop of Chelsea midfielders lack.
Lavia’s average positioning is usually just in front of the two centre backs, screening the defence and allowing the Southampton fullbacks to push forwards. If you look at his average positions in most games, his heat maps show he covers A LOT of ground in central areas, but his average position is in and around the centre circle.
The most impressive feature of Lavia is his raw talent and athleticism. At such a young age, he is showing signs that he could be moulded into a few different types of midfielder, and that is both down to his athleticism and technical functionality at such a young age.
The fit under Pochettino :
In Pochettino’s fluid 4-2-3-1 system, Lavia would play in a double pivot with Enzo Fernandez. However, the fluidity of Pochettino’s version of a 4-2-3-1 is having a midfielder who is able to drop in from midfield between the defenders at times, is comfortable in the first phase of play, and can allow the fullbacks to push on to provide width.
Lavia is already doing a few of these jobs, he sits in very central areas and allows the Southampton fullbacks to push on. He is also comfortable in possession when playing out in the first phase as he is a very press resistant player due to his athleticism and power.
He has all of the qualities to play in this “half back” role, dropping in to help play out in early phases of play, and covering central areas to allow others to push forward in the system to create a 3-4-2-1 system at times in attack.
Plus, he would most likely be learning and developing even more from the “big money” midfield signing Chelsea bring in, rumoured to be Moises Caicedo.
Analysing the pro’s and con’s :
Only being 19, Lavia still has areas of his game that need refining, he is an extremely special talent due to his build, technique and excellent reading of the game at such a young age.
The first massive positive with Lavia is that even at only 19 years of age, his ability to read the game is exceptional. His positional awareness, predicting when the ball is going to drop and where and his ability to read the game is far beyond his years.
Whilst at times he can be rash with his slide tackling and eagerness to cut off passing lanes, these areas of his game will see improvement with age and tactical familiarity.
The main disadvantage with Lavia is the fact he has only played one senior season of Premier League football and of course it ended with Southamtpon being relegated.
Whilst I believe Lavia couldn’t have done much more for Southampton and he has enjoyed an excellent breakthrough season at the club, he still needs experience at the top level, in big games and big moments.
With Chelsea having such a young squad, this lack of experience at the top level is familiar throughout the squad and they could find that a lack of leadership and experience hurts them in the immediate term, before improving as the squad gels and ages.
Another obvious pro for Lavia is his all action defensive abilities. His high intensity ball winning archetype is perfect for Pochettino and his philosophy.
Lavia’s ability to win the ball back in all areas of the pitch and play simple, accurate passes in the midfield to the creative outlets such as Enzo Fernadez and Christopher Nkunku would work perfectly for what Chelsea and Pochettino are trying to build, and would definitely help the functionality of the team.
A con that could quite easily become an asset for Lavia is his dribbling and progressive carrying ability. His numbers in this department are not great, averaging 0.89 progressive carries per 90 (in the bottom 28% amongst midfielders for this metric).
However, Lavia averages 1.13 take-ons per 90, which ranks in the top 75% amongst midfielders. You can see when watching Lavia play he has the ability and athleticism to beat players using his power and stride, which also makes him extremely press resistant. These low progressive carry numbers could easily improve on a better side, as you can see from the eye test that Lavia has good ball carrying ability.
Conclusion :
Overall, I believe Romeo Lavia would be an excellent signing for Chelsea, he fits the profile of what Chelsea and Pochettino are looking for and at only 19 years of age, could grow with this young squad and form a great partnership with Enzo Fernández.
Pochettino would be getting a gem of a talent, who he could mould into the defensive midfielder that Chelsea desperately need, whilst also being able to afford the the patience and time required for such a young gem to develop further as the club continue their pursuit of Moises Caicedo, who would be the starter next to Enzo.
