The Chelsea star finally proving Cole Palmer was right, he is ‘one of the best in the world’
When Cole Palmer speaks, Chelsea fans often listen. No player is more respected among the Chelsea fanbase than their No. 10, but his comments about Romeo Lavia in 2025 were questionable.
At the time, Lavia was approaching two years into his Chelsea stint. By the end of the 2024-25 season, having joined for £58m in 2023, Lavia had only played 19 games in all competitions for the Blues.
#Injury had an impact, but since then, the midfielder has rid himself of injury and this time around, he has made an excellent start to the season under Xabi Alonso. Finally, Palmer’s comments are making sense.
Palmer said Lavia could be ‘one of the best in the world’
Speaking to Sky Sports back in 2025, Palmer said the former Southampton and Man City star could be one of the best in the world. Palmer knows him better than most, having played with him at Man City.
“He’s one of the best midfielders I’ve played with, to be honest. Not everybody’s seen it, but obviously I knew him at City. Everyone will realise it soon. I think he will be one of the best midfielders in the world.”
Chelsea needed this break BADLY… but with so many players racking up minutes for their countries, did it actually help them or could it have made things worse? 🤔
Let us know your reasoning! 👇
Big words from Palmer, which at the time seemed rather unfounded. Lavia had failed to justify his big transfer fee, let alone put weight behind Palmer’s comments. But this season, he is finally doing that.
His performances for Chelsea are improving with every minute, and during the break with Belgium, he was excellent. He’s been told he could win the Ballon d’Or, and even Zinedine Zidane was left impressed.
Lavia’s assist for Belgium against France was a pure moment of genius, but also a sign that this is a player who is finally rediscovering confidence. With that confidence, he can finally start to prove Palmer right.
What is Chelsea’s best midfield pairing right now?
Alonso has been using a 3-4-2-1 system, but if he changes, it is widely accepted that he would revert to a 4-2-3-1 formation. Both line-ups use a double pivot; Lavia has started four of five league games so far.
According to Liam Twomey, Alonso’s best double pivot is Moises Caicedo and Reece James. But James has hardly impressed in midfield. The combination of Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson didn’t work.
There is a limit to simply picking midfielders based on their quality. Their confidence and mindset is also important and right now, no Chelsea midfielder will have the confidence Lavia has. He has to be first pick.
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