Roméo Lavia is earning major praise in Belgium after showing signs that his long battle with injuries at Chelsea may finally be easing.
The midfielder arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2023 as one of the most highly rated young players in British football.
After developing at Manchester City, Lavia spent one season at Southampton following a €22.26 million move before Chelsea paid €62.1m to sign him.
His progress since then has been repeatedly interrupted.
Lavia has made just 48 Chelsea appearances across three years, with injuries responsible for lengthy spells on the sidelines. He was unavailable for 286 days during 2023/24, another 226 days in 2024/25 and 119 days during the 2025/26 campaign.
This season, however, the signs are considerably more encouraging.
Lavia impresses for Chelsea and Belgium
Lavia has already made five appearances in all competitions for Chelsea this season before receiving further minutes with Belgium during the international break.
He played 16 minutes in Belgium’s 2-0 victory over Italy before getting 85 minutes in the 1-0 defeat to France.
His performances have generated considerable praise back home.
Former Belgium international Jan Ceulemans believes Lavia’s ability to keep his game simple is one of his biggest strengths.
“A good footballer is someone who plays a simple game,” Ceulemans said.
“That’s Lavia. He wins the ball back and distributes it well – always looking forward.”
Ceulemans also highlighted the importance of movement from Lavia’s teammates, allowing the Chelsea midfielder to quickly progress possession after winning the ball.
Lavia backed as Belgium’s midfield future
Steven Defour went even further, describing Lavia as Belgium’s long-term answer in defensive midfield.
“He’s our defensive midfielder of the future, but he’s already delivering right now,” Defour said.
Defour particularly praised Lavia’s first touch and his tendency to immediately move possession forward rather than simply retaining the ball.
“It’s impressive,” he added. “Lavia’s first touch is an oriented control moving forward or a forward pass.”
Jelle Vossen was more cautious.
While agreeing that Lavia had produced a strong performance, he stopped short of declaring the Chelsea midfielder a guaranteed Belgium starter for years to come.
That caution is understandable given Lavia’s injury history.
The talent that convinced Chelsea to invest €62.1m has rarely been in question. The challenge has been keeping him available long enough to demonstrate it consistently.
If his fitness problems are finally behind him, both Chelsea and Belgium could now start seeing much more of the midfielder who generated so much excitement earlier in his career.
Key Points
- Roméo Lavia has made only 48 Chelsea appearances since his €62.1m transfer in 2023 after repeated injury problems.
- The midfielder has already featured five times for Chelsea this season.
- Lavia played against both Italy and France for Belgium during the international break.
- Jan Ceulemans praised his simple, progressive style of play and ability to win possession.
- Steven Defour believes Lavia can become Belgium’s long-term defensive midfielder, although Jelle Vossen remains more cautious.
What’s Next
For Lavia, availability remains the most important issue.
His performances for Belgium provide another encouraging indication that he is rebuilding both fitness and rhythm after three injury-disrupted seasons at Chelsea.
The next challenge is maintaining that momentum when he returns to Stamford Bridge. If Lavia can put together a prolonged run without another setback, Chelsea may finally be able to properly assess the midfielder they invested so heavily in three years ago.
Belgium will be watching closely too. Defour already considers him their defensive midfielder of the future, but turning that prediction into reality will require Lavia to remain fit and deliver consistently over a much longer period.
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