Chelsea have ready made replacement for Romeo Lavia after midfielder's ankle injury

Chelsea had quite the summer transfer window, with plenty of business both in and out of Stamford Bridge and a fair chunk of money changing hands.

Several players departed Chelsea during a mass summer revamp following the arrival of new boss Mauricio Pochettino.

The likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic, Edouard Mendy, Kai Havertz, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu all departed for fees, while Cesar Azpilicueta, N'Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko all left for free.

But there have been plenty of fresh faces to arrive at Stamford Bridge over the past few months during Pochettino's first summer in charge at the West London club.

Among the incoming business done included the acquisitions of Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Angelo Gabriel, Axel Disasi, Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo, Deivid Washington, Dorde Petrivic, and Cole Palmer, the latter being signed on transfer deadline day from Manchester City.

Romeo Lavia was signed this summer for a reported £58 million from Southampton, but is yet to feature for Chelsea since his move.

The 19-year-old had been tipped to be handed his debut after the international break, but those hopes now seem to have been dashed.

Fresh reports have claimed that Lavia has sustained an ankle injury during training which could see him sidelined for a significant period.

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Despite the fact Chelsea fans look like they will be made to wait even longer for Lavia's debut, it could mean more of a role in the coming weeks for another summer signing who was nearly farmed out on loan, but was instead kept by Pochettino.

Lesley Ugochukwu joined Chelsea for a reported £13 million from French side Rennes as part of their summer recruitment - and with the other signings made, it was possible that he could have been shipped out on loan to play more regularly.

So far, Ugochukwu has featured three times for Chelsea since his summer arrival, with one start in the Carabao Cup second round win over AFC Wimbledon.

The 19-year-old also has two substitute appearances in the Premier League against Liverpool and Luton Town.

And with Lavia's absence now set to be even longer, Pochettino could now turn to Ugochukwu on a more regular basis, having clearly shown already that the France under-21 international has a place in his matchday squad.

Time will tell, but not sending Ugochukwu out on loan could have been a very sensible decision from Pochettino, in light of Lavia's extended time on the sidelines.

Topics: Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino, Romeo Lavia, Premier League, Football

John McDougall