Chelsea star has changed Cole Palmer's season as Enzo Maresca handed Champions League lifeline

On the face of it, there is not much reason that Romeo Lavia should work at Chelsea. He isn't particularly good defensively, doesn't score goals, and very rarely provides assists.

He is the £58million midfielder with two £100million players around him. Last season he was the odd ball with academy graduate Conor Gallagher (£0million, free) the other choice.

Despite it coming with a complex set of tactical manoeuvering from Enzo Maresca, Lavia is the makeweight and the balance.

In the nine Premier League starts he has made this season, Chelsea have only lost two and one was on the opening day against Manchester City. Chelsea used a system which would not be returned to as Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku played wide. The other was away at Liverpool and drew great praise from Arne Slot, who claimed at the time that Chelsea were the only team they had played who deserved to win. Lavia managed 53 minutes and helped to bind things for Chelsea when Enzo Fernandez was out of favour.

There are plenty of factors that contributed to the following winter crisis, one being Wesley Fofana's injury, but Lavia also being sidelined was just as important. After winning the first match without him they went five without victory and slumped. They have just about picked up better results of late but only just. Performances are still below par.

Lavia's return at the weekend and into the best XI now means that Moises Caicedo, undoubtedly the team's best midfielder and probably the most consistently important player throughout the squad - - has to move to right-back. Maresca will move swap pieces to get him in, even if it means leaving Reece James out.

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It says a lot about Caicedo's ability, first and foremost, that he is able to operate in this duel role. On paper it checks out but moving from the middle of the pitch to the flank creates new angles and surroundings which are hard to adjust to.

Fernandez is the most static. He is not quick or mobile. He cannot defend large spaces at all and is the most attacking of the three. Lavia provides more than just a body, though.

He adds a punch in possession, always looking forward first or at least past the opposition.

He is less available than Fofana and James. He cannot cope physically, yet, with too much running and has to be so carefully managed that his full strength is rarely seen for more than an hour.

That his inclusion in the team has such a dramatic shift on Caicedo is also an issue. This is more a squad-building thing but it still has to be taken into account with Lavia. In Maresca's plans, the idea of a midfield trio with Fernandez, Caicedo, and Lavia is basically void from the start.

What bringing him in does do, though, is provide a way to take more of the burden away from Palmer., where there is more space.

Although logic dictates that Palmer being on the ball more centrally is a good idea as he can have more of a say on the flow of a game, his best work may well still come from wider. It is telling that his run of poor form has continued so long when he has mainly been deployed as a No.10.

Tasked with playing in the half spaces either on the left but more regularly the right, Palmer is being forced deeper to receive the ball and hasn't had any output, let alone the levels of his first 12 months. That is down to a number of factors but positioning is possibly one of them.

He now has a direct one-on-one winger to his right, a gold mine of attacking opportunity for Chelsea earlier in the season, be it with Noni Madueke or Pedro Neto. Lavia would allow Palmer to venture towards them once more as Fernandez takes up the central positions.

Palmer would usually drift in-field from the right under Mauricio Pochettino last season and was devastating. In the matches where he did start as an orthodox No.10 things were more confused and less effective.

Maresca has chosen to play with two out-and-out wingers for most of this season, therefore leaving Palmer to play in the middle. In a bid to get him out of the firing line, Lavia's return couldn't have come at a better time.

Chelsea have experimented with Fernandez working higher next to Palmer and it has gotten more out of the Argentine. Without an attacking full-back to overlap it is unlikely that Palmer will shift wide to the right to the same extent again but Lavia coming in does leave Maresca with more options.

Fernandez then moves into his spot and Lavia plays next to Caicedo with Madueke and Neto on the wings. Palmer does look like he needs a rest and this is one way to get him out whilst not upsetting the stability of the team.

James has been used in midfield to help provide a base for Fernandez to then get up the field but that has not always worked. The club captain still looks uncomfortable and awkward in the position.

Lavia is much more natural and has a blend of skills in passing and dribbling which is unmatched by his peers. Finding a way to get the best out of all three midfielders at the same time will take pressure off Palmer to get the ball forward and also gives Maresca a wider array of possibilities to explore.

"I spent one entire season with Romeo when I was under-23 at City," . "So I know Romeo very well. For us it's like Reece, they are both top players. The only shame for us is that unfortunately we need to manage them, we need to protect them. But no doubt that Chelsea with Reece and Romeo, it's a better team".

It is not surprise that Maresca has turned to Lavia quickly as soon as he has been fit either. "He's one of the best midfielders [when available] because he can defend very well, he can attack, he breaks the line, the pass between the lines, it's unbelievable," Maresca gushed. "He's very good and hopefully we can have him until the end of the season."

Not only does Lavia bring in new elements to the Chelsea squad but he can help unlock his teammates as well. Given how stunted things have been in 2025, which has seen Chelsea's chances of making the top five and Champions League qualification slip into a scrap, Lavia's late introduction could make all the difference.

With only one game a week to worry about, keeping him fit for the last month will all the morre important for Palmer than anyone else.