Chelsea think their ‘elite talent’ can be a future leader, he’s only played one Premier League game for them

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When you look around the current Chelsea dressing room, there’s quite obviously a lack of standout leaders.

Chelsea fans will remember the glory years when they had the likes of John Terry, Michael Ballack, Petr Cech, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard in the same squad. However, the current Blues strategy has been to invest in many youngsters, which means in turn there’s a lack of leadership and know-how.

Reece James, 24, was appointed club captain last year. He’s hardly the most vocal or authoritative figure on the pitch, but he at least knows the club inside out after coming through the youth system.

It’s been claimed by The Athletic that James has shown much more leadership during pre-season.

Who else is going to emerge as a leader in the current Chelsea ranks, though?

• READ MORE: Mario Melchiot told Chelsea’s £50m player to start acting like a leader last season

Chelsea earmark Romeo Lavia as a future leader

According to The Athletic, Chelsea have earmarked Romeo Lavia for a possible leadership role in the future with them.

It is explained that the 20-year-old midfielder has impressed people at the club with how he behaved last season when he was injured. Remarkably, the Belgian youngster only played one Premier League game during a very frustrating debut campaign at Stamford Bridge.

The report explains that Lavia immersed himself into the club by attending Under-21s matches. In fact, he was even asked to speak to academy players, something he knows all about as he was very recently one at Manchester City.

• READ MORE: Five reasons to get excited about Chelsea star Romeo Lavia next season

Romeo Lavia is an elite talent

Chelsea fans don’t know much about Lavia yet because his first year was decimated by injury, but he could be one of the big successes of the new season if he stays fit.

The deep-lying midfielder has really impressed in pre-season in Enzo Maresca’s side. In fact, he’s perfect playing in the No 6 position as someone who’s fantastic both on and off the ball.

Speaking via ESPN back in May, Noni Madueke described Chelsea teammate Lavia as an “elite talent”. He added that he’s very excited to play alongside him in the upcoming campaign.

It’s not the time to put any kind of pressure on Lavia as a leader because his focus is to stay fit, but it’s certainly a trait to keep an eye on moving forward.