Mauricio Pochettino, the Chelsea manager, has disclosed that Romeo Lavia, the newly acquired player from Southampton, is presently not prepared to participate for the club.
Lavia’s transfer to Chelsea occurred in early August for an initial sum of £53 million, with Chelsea outmaneuvering Liverpool to secure his commitment.
However, during the past Sunday’s match against West Ham, Lavia was not listed in the matchday squad, and he was also absent from training earlier this week.
In the ongoing season, Lavia hasn’t made a competitive appearance; he was on the bench for Southampton’s first Championship game against Sheffield Wednesday but wasn’t included thereafter.
Pochettino has now clarified the reason behind Lavia’s current unavailability.
Mauricio Pochettino on Romeo Lavia absence
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea’s game against Luton on Friday evening, the Blues boss was asked about when supporters can expect to see the 19-year-old in action.
He replied (quotes viafootball.london): “Lavia no [not ready to start].
“He needs a few weeks to be ready to be involved with the team. He is working to try and catch his team-mates.
“For Romeo we need to wait a few weeks, but Moises [Caicedo] is ready.”
🗣️ Mauricio Pochettino confirms Moises Caicedo is in line to start against Luton on Friday, but Romeo Lavia needs more time. “Moises is ready to start. Lavia… no. He needs a few weeks to be ready to be involved. He is working now to catch up with the team.” pic.twitter.com/t4o7xy9bPk
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 24, 2023
The news over Lavia may come as a concern to Blues fans, given the significant fee spent on bringing him to Stamford Bridge.
But the Belgian did not feature heavily for Southampton throughout pre-season. Speaking in August prior to his side’s fixture against Norwich, Saints boss Russell Martin explained (quotes viaSouthampton Daily Echo): “He’s not had enough minutes in pre-season.
“I don’t think I’d ask him to start a game after the minutes he has had and everything that is going on.
“In these situations, you think back to yourself as a 19-year-old. How would you cope with that? He’s been great, some days much better than others, but there has been so much noise and he is a really top lad and really top player.
“Romeo is getting fitter and fitter, and trained really well.”
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