Former Chelsea coach explains what Romeo Lavia does 'a lot better' than Enzo Fernandez

Former Chelsea coach Jody Morris has weighed in on Romeo Lavia’s form for the Blues, with the youngster having nailed down a starting XI spot in recent weeks. The 20-year-old is keeping a £107million player out of the team in Enzo Fernandez, forming a fine partnership with Moises Caicedo in the heart of midfield.

Enzo Maresca has been impressed by Lavia, recently saying: “First of all, it’s a matter of balance. In this moment, Romeo and Moi give us physicality and strength in the middle. This is the reason why we found the option with Malo [Gusto] in the pocket.”

Settled partnerships have been key to Chelsea’s revival under Maresca, with the Italian settling on centre-back and midfield duos. Lavia has been part of that, and according to former Blues coach Morris, there is something the youngster does that is ‘a lot better’ than the level Enzo Fernandez manages.

“I certainly like the earlier signs of them two together, I feel that Lavia offers a bit of steeliness,” Morris told talkSPORT. “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.”

Lavia cost Chelsea £58million, and while the Blues were clearly confident of the Belgian’s talent, they were not expecting him to make such a big impact so early, especially given the expectation that Fernandez would lock down a midfield spot. Lavia picked up a knock last week but looks to be fit to compete with Belgium over the international break.