Chelsea thought they’d struck gold when they managed to lure Romeo Lavia away from Southampton in 2023.
The young Belgian was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool but the Reds missed out on the former Manchester City trainee two years’ ago.
Chelsea went on a splurge to bolster in the middle of the park in 2023 having kicked off the year with the addition of Enzo Fernandez from Benfica after his starring role in Argentina’s World Cup triumph.
The west London side also spent big to secure the services of Moises Caicedo in the off season as Chelsea signalled their intentions.
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The addition of Lavia was the cherry atop the cake for the capital outfit but the Belgium international’s debut season at Stamford Bridge was an unmitigated disaster.
Lavia registered just 32 minutes of Premier League game time due to respective muscle, ankle and hamstring injuries.
And while Lavia featured more frequently for Chelsea under Enzo Maresca last season – he started 11 league games and featured off the bench a further five times – the midfielder’s campaign was still plagued by hamstring issues.
Lavia faces increased competition at Chelsea
Maresca even made the decision to not call Lavia up to Chelsea’s Conference League squad in their successful European campaign last season.
Lavia will find minutes harder to come by in the coming campaign even if fit after Chelsea signed Dario Essugo from Sporting CP earlier this year.
Andrey Santos has also returned to the club following a successful loan spell with Strasbourg, though the Brazilian started just one game for the Blues at the Club World Cup but is expected to feature more frequently in the coming campaign following Chelsea's return to the Champions League.
And with the season fast approaching, Lavia has taken to social platform Snapchat to post a cryptic message.
“kept the receipts. remember to stay on that side.” Lavia posted earlier this week in a message that has bewildered supporters.
One user on X who replied to a post by @CFCPys highlighting Lavia’s Snapchat post requested context on the youngster’s message.
One replied: “Effectively saying that everyone who wanted me out due to injury issues can keep that same attitude when he's back, and likewise the fans who support him throughout the injuries will remain on that side”
Another added: “I think something about him being injured or always being injured”
Grok tries to explain Snapchat message
A further user tagged Grok in the replies to explain what Lavia meant by his wording on the Snapchat post.
“Romeo Lavia's Snapchat post targets critics who doubted him amid injury setbacks since his 2023 Chelsea transfer. 'Kept the receipts' means he saved their negative comments as proof. 'Stay on that side' warns against hypocritically supporting him now that he's recovered and excelling in pre-season,” Grok said as X’s AI tool sought to add context.
Another X user replied to the user requesting an explanation from Grok with: “Hospital Merchant, Stay fit or go to Arsenal”
Lavia didn’t feature in either of Chelsea’s pre-season wins over Bayer Leverkusen or AC Milan over the weekend, with the injury-plagued Blues man now seemingly fifth choice in the central midfield pecking order under Maresca.
Topics: Romeo Lavia, Chelsea, Premier League, Football, Transfers
Ben McAleer