£58m “pioneer” should lead his country as well as Chelsea claims analyst

Most of the talk in the build up to tomorrow’s Chelsea – Arsenal game has been about Moises Caicedo, and one can understand why.

There are natural comparisons to Declan Rice, who will be his opposition in midfield tomorrow, given they both moved to their new clubs at a similar time for a similar fee. Caicedo is having a great season, and is deservedly getting his flowers.

But what about Caicedo’s midfield partner, the man whose presence alongside the Ecuador international seems to free him up and raise his game to another level? Romeo Lavia is still on a long road back from a full year out, but the signs couldn’t be much more promising.

Belgians take notice of Lavia return to prominence

In Lavia’s native Belgium they’re really taking notice, especially after he was called up to the national team for this upcoming break. Analyst Peter Vandenbempt has been praising him:

“He was there in the very first match under [Belgium manager] Domenico Tedesco in the spring of 2023 Lavia is one of the greatest talents at the Red Devils. He is now doing great in the Premier League at Chelsea,” Vandenbempt wrote in quotes picked up by SportWitness.

“In principle, he should become one of the driving players and pioneers in midfield for the Red Devils in the coming years. So, we are definitely looking forward to what he can bring. I assume we will see him for part of one match or maybe even both matches [in the break].”

Obviously at Chelsea we’re more concerned with how we get on tomorrow than we are with how Lavia does in the international games to come – but him returning for Belgium is a great sign that his recovery period is almost over and hopefully those extra minutes help him get back to his best even faster after so long out.