Romeo Lavia drops Chelsea return hint before Enzo Maresca reunion

Chelsea star Romeo Lavia has hinted at a return to full fitness ahead of what is sure to be a busy summer transfer window at Stamford Bridge.

The 20-year-old was one of 12 signings the Blues made last summer, with his £62m move from Southampton seemingly set to line him up alongside British transfer fee record-breaker Moises Caicedo and his £105m partner in midfield Enzo Fernandez. However, Lavia saw a staggered start to his time at Chelsea as manager Mauricio Pochettino deemed him too unfit to train with the first team.

It meant weeks worth of preparation for the youngster before he suffered an ankle injury that pushed his debut back all the way until late December which saw him first appear on the bench in a 2-1 defeat to Wolves before coming on to replace Ian Maatsen in their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in the 58th minute.

However, that half-an-hour would be all he saw of the pitch last season as a hamstring issue picked up during the game saw him sidelined for the rest of the campaign. Despite the setbacks, the introduction of new manager Enzo Maresca will no doubt mean a new lease of life at Stamford Bridge for the youngster who was reunited with the Italian after his appointment was announced earlier this month.

Having previously played in the Manchester City academy setup alongside now-teammate Cole Palmer, Lavia should be used to Maresca after playing under the 44-year-old for the development squad in 2020. In that season, he guided them to the club’s first Premier League 2 title, with Palmer and Lavia both playing vital roles in the trophy-winning campaign.

In fact, the 20-year-old has already described the impact Maresca has had on his young career and can now look to kickstart his Chelsea career back up under the Italian. “I really enjoy recovering the ball and pass through the lines,” he told GOAL in 2021.

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“Enzo’s helped me a lot with that, always being on the half-turn so I can see the game going forward, so it’s not a problem now. I know that I’ve got my qualities, but if I do something wrong they help me. Obviously my team-mates have got experience – some of them have trained with the first team. They’ve helped me a lot and I’ll keep learning.”

Now the star is set to stay at Cobham with 27 other Chelsea stars in order to get their preseason underway while the European Championships kick-off in Germany next week. While Palmer is away with the Three Lions, Lavia has been rehabilitating and has shown off great progress on his social media platforms this week.

Taking to Instagram, he shared a photo of him sitting on the sidelines of a pitch ready to lace up his boots alongside a football, with a goal and some exercises laid out on the field in front of him. It’s a clear indication that the star has made good steps in the recovery from his injuries he suffered during the last few months and will hopefully be well on his way to getting his career back on track.