Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso believes the club is finally seeing the best of Romeo Lavia, with the midfielder “in a good place” after putting his injury problems behind him.
The 22-year-old has faced a lengthy fitness struggle since signing from Southampton in 2023 and had not completed a competitive 90 minutes for the Blues until last week’s Carabao Cup tie against Liverpool.
But he followed that up by going the distance for the second time in four days, turning in a fine display in a 2-0 win over Manchester United.
“We know Rom is feeling better, is feeling stronger, is feeling more confident to go with more minutes and with more load,” Alonso told the club’s official website.
“He’s gone from playing the whole game at Anfield to not even 72 hours later playing that way and with that energy [against United]. Sometimes the head is more important than the legs and now his head is in a good place.”
Alonso knows the mechanics of controlling the midfield better than most, having pulled the strings at the highest level with Liverpool, Real Madrid and Spain, and was full of praise for Lavia’s work against the Red Devils.
“It was a top performance. In the last three weeks, I’ve seen Romeo in top form,” he said.
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“His game, from a midfielder’s point of view, was very complete. He has done so many good things and I’m happy for him. He deserves huge recognition.
“He has done so many things right. He was always connecting the defence with the attacking players, he was able to switch the game, he has taken many right decisions, was very dynamic and competitive.
“Not just this game but in the last two or three weeks, he has been playing at a very good level and I’m very happy for him.”
