Romeo Lavia must go back to basics and offer more at both ends

EFL Cup games are always a good platform for players to impress and try to earn a first team place.

That worked out well for the likes of Estevao Willian and Jamie Gittens last night, who both impressed against Wolves and increased calls for them to be starting this weekend against Tottenham.

Lavia plays his way out of the team with disappointing display

Romeo Lavia being interviewed on Chelsea TV.

But it can go the other way too – play badly and you can get further from the first team. That’s what appeared to happen to Romeo Lavia last night. He got a 6.6 rating with FotMob after making an error which led to a Wolves goal.

He’s a steady passer as we know, and last night he completed 54 of 59. But he offers so little attacking threat with that passing, which is always very sideways. That wouldn’t be such a problem if he offered more defensively, but he’s slow to get around and often is switched off at crucial moments.

Lavia’s real strength is breaking the lines with some dribbling centrally, and last night he didn’t even attempt a move with the ball. When he’s not doing that, he’s really not helping the team much, and it’s hard to see why Maresca would pick him ahead of Andrey Santos in most games now, given Santos offers a goal threat and more solidity in defence.

The Belgian has positive qualities, but right now he needs to work on his weaknesses if he wants to be a starter.

In other news…

Unlike Lavia, Gittens and Estevao did their chances of starting on Sunday no harm, and in fact there’s a big argument they should start – we don’t agree.

Trevoh Chalobah is one of Chelsea and the Premier League’s highest rated players this season, which makes the culture war around him even more confusing.