Xabi Alonso: "Roméo Lavia is in top form"

Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso says midfielder Roméo Lavia, who has bounced back from a string of injuries in recent seasons, is now in "a very good place".

The Belgian, who joined Chelsea from Southampton in August 2023 for around £58 million, had long been unable to make the expected impact at the London club because of a run of unfortunate injuries. Having battled mainly with hamstring problems since his move to Stamford Bridge, the 22-year-old has made just 43 appearances in all competitions.

This season, however, the Belgium international has featured in nine matches under Alonso and caught the eye in particular with his performance in Chelsea's win over Manchester United on Saturday. Lavia provided an assist for Morgan Rogers and led his team in those departments with 14 loose-ball recoveries and 4 successful tackles out of 5, while also winning 7 of his 9 duels and making 4 interceptions.

The young midfielder had also played the full 90 minutes in the League Cup clash with Liverpool just three days before the United game, and his physical and mental transformation has left Alonso highly satisfied.

Assessing Lavia's form, Alonso said: "We know Rom feels better, stronger and confident enough to handle more minutes and the match load. Playing the whole game at Anfield and then, not even 72 hours later, facing United and playing with that energy is very valuable. Sometimes the head is more important than the legs, and right now his head is in a very good place. He delivered a top-level performance. For the last three weeks I've been seeing Romeo at his peak."

Highlighting his player's all-round game, the Spanish coach added: "From a midfielder's point of view, it was an extremely complete performance. He was constantly connecting the defence and the attack, he dictated the play, he was very dynamic and he made a lot of right decisions. Not just in this match – for the last two or three weeks he has been playing at a very good level, and I'm really happy for him."