Paul Merson thinks Chelsea are really struggling without one injured player in their team right now.
The current Chelsea injury list does include some significant first-team players. Plus, Trevoh Chalobah was injured against Aston Villa on Saturday as he becomes the latest individual to face a period on the sidelines.
The Blues squad has cost a lot to assemble in recent transfer windows, but there are definitely still some cracks appearing.
Earlier in February, Paul Merson claimed Chelsea miss Nicolas Jackson, particularly because the injured striker links up superbly well with Cole Palmer. Now, Merson has added fresh claims they’re struggling without his other teammate.
- READ MORE: Alan Shearer describes Chelsea as ‘weird’ for still lacking three major things in their squad
Paul Merson stresses Chelsea really miss Romeo Lavia
Merson suggests that Chelsea would be so much stronger with Romeo Lavia, 21, in their side.
He told Sportkeeda: “I also believe Chelsea are missing Romeo Lavia. I know he has struggled for fitness ever since joining the club, but with him in there, Chelsea have more legs in midfield. Lavia is also someone who can win the ball back.
“Both Enzo Fernandez and [Cole] Palmer are good passers of the ball unlike Moises Caicedo, who is also a natural ball-winner like Lavia. This is affecting Chelsea in games.”
We agree that Lavia’s absence can be felt because the defensive midfielder brings so much quality on and off the ball when he’s on the pitch.
Lavia is an excellent trainer because he’s humble and keen to learn from others. Unless he can overcome these frequent injury interruptions, there’s a worry he may never be able to fulfil his incredible potential.
Chelsea’s record when Romeo Lavia plays
It’s very frustrating for both Chelsea and Lavia that his time in West London has been wrecked by injuries to date.
In Lavia’s debut campaign as a Blues player, he only made one appearance due to a long-term injury. It’s been a stop-start 2024/25 season for him so far as well.
| Appearances (Starts) | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| 12 (9) | 7 | 3 | 2 |
As you can see above, Chelsea have only lost twice this season when Lavia has featured. Incidentally, they were in Premier League defeats against Manchester City and Liverpool.
Lavia insists he can achieve much more and go through the gears to show Chelsea fans his true ability, but let’s wait and see what lies in store for him during the rest of the season.
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