Steve Nicol details why Lavia is a better option than Fernandez in Chelsea’s midfield | OneFootball

Former Liverpool player Steve Nicol believes Romeo Laiva complements Moises Caicedo and claims the Ecuadorian now has someone working with him rather than doing it “all on his own.”

Lavia arrived at Chelsea from Southampton in the summer of 2023 in a deal worth up to £58m, but his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge was ruined by injury.

The 20-year-old only played 32 minutes last season, but thankfully this season he has featured on a more regular basis for the Blues.

Nicol shares thoughts on Lavia and Chelsea’s midfield

Lavia was one of Chelsea’s standout performers in pre-season and started the first game of the season against Manchester City, although he picked up a hamstring injury against Servette and missed four Premier League games.

The Belgian didn’t return to the starting line-up until last month’s defeat to Liverpool at Anfield where Maresca made the bold call to start him over Enzo Fernandez.

Lavia impressed against Liverpool and has started all the subsequent league games since alongside Caicedo, who he stated he’s had a good connection with since day one.

Lavia is currently part of Chelsea’s first choice midfield pairing with Caicedo. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Chelsea’s midfield has been a topic of conversation, with Jody Morris stating he’s a big fan of the duo’s partnership.

Former Liverpool star Nicol has now had his say on Chelsea’s midfield and believes Lavia complements Caicedo well.

“Well, he complements Caicedo,” he told ESPN as cited on X.com.

“You know the problem with Enzo. Enzo doesn’t get around the field very well, certainly not what you should at the top end of the Premier League, and that’s the biggest thing for me.

“With Caicedo, he’s now got somebody else who’s working with him, instead of trying to do it all on his own.”

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It’s fair to say that Lavia and Caicedo do cover more ground than when Fernandez is in midfield, although some creativity is sacrificed without the Argentine.

With the games coming thick and fast after the international break, Fernandez will start Premier League games, but it will be interesting to see how Maresca rotates his midfield over the upcoming fixtures.