A fired and fit Romeo Lavia could be one of the key points for Chelsea this season, says former Blues star Joe Cole.
Lavia joined Southampton in August 2023 but delayed due to injury. He made a 32-minute appearance against Crystal Palace in December, but further setbacks prevented him from re-engaging with Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino has since resigned, with Enzo Maresca as coach. And TNT Sports football expert Cole hopes Lavia’s fitness, along with that of other key first-team players, will make the difference between good fortune and failure under the Italian’s leadership.
Former Manchester City player Lavia started Chelsea’s final pre-season friendly, playing alongside Enzo Fernandez and new signing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in a draw against Inter Milan. At least two of the three are expected to start the opening match of the Premier League. At City, Moisés Caicedo is also in the mix.
“Everyone I talk to about him who has worked with him tells me how smart he is, and every time I’ve seen him play, he’s done two or three things in a game that have really inspired me,” Cole said. Mirror Football”. Once again, I come back to that, keeping the players compatible and on the field; if Chelsea can do that, they will have a smart season.
“If you start wasting those players, like [Wesley] Fofana, like Lavia, like Reece James, like [Ben] Chilwell, then it becomes difficult, it is. [new signing Pedro] Neto’s football has also failed, so we have to keep it in shape.
Cole sees Sunday’s match against the defending champions as a “free kick” for his former club. “I would accept a draw now, but I think Chelsea can surprise them. They have to be very intelligent with the ball on the field. ” game. midfielder,” he added.
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Chelsea spent around £400m under former boss Pochettino, finishing sixth in what turned out to be his only season in charge. Spending has continued under Maresca, with Dewsbury-Hall and Neto being the most expensive of the nine new recruits signed in a combined role of more than £160 million.
“Looking at it from the outside, 41 players are a challenge, for many, many reasons,” Cole said. “Changing coaches, although historically it was not a challenge at Chelsea, then you had a solid owner and director of football, everything else was solid at the club and at that time there were players of greater stature. But turning coaches into the most sensible way to convert everything doesn’t look wonderful from the outside.
“I think what the club can do is send the right message. Just start by saying ‘this is who we are and this is what we seek to achieve, and this is how we do it. ‘
“Maybe they’re not able to do that because you don’t need to say ‘well, maybe. . . ‘ But you’re consistently an expert, now you look to read between the lines and figure out what’s going on and you do it. No. I don’t know. One thing It’s for sure: they will be exciting, I think they will be exciting.
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