Lavia, 22, joined Chelsea from Southampton for a reported £53 million back in 2023, but has only made 44 appearances due to several injury issues.
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Perhaps even more remarkably, he had never played a full 90 minutes for the club… until the 3-0 pre-season friendly win over AC Milan on Saturday (August 8).
Speaking to the club’s in-house media team after the game, new manager Alonso admitted it’s a record the midfielder has struggled with.
“Romeo has this mental block when it comes to playing 90 minutes, he was tired but I said let him play, let him play, let him do the 90 and he finishes exhausted, I think that he is really happy,” he said.