Transfers in Focus: Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea
Can the duo revolutionise the Blues midfield?
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This newsletter is not going to be an indictment of Chelsea’s spending. That is a whole can of worms that would take too long to impact and ultimately move away from a discussion about football, therefore I will leave that to others to tackle.
This newsletter concerns Moises Caicedo (the new British record transfer) and Romeo Lavia, Chelsea’s two new signings who will revolutionise their midfield.
But the question is how?
New manager Mauricio Pochettino is attempting to get Chelsea back in Europe after a comedy of errors under Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard saw them finish 10th last season.
A lack of goals was one of the significant reasons, but the other was a lack of control in midfield. Enzo Fernandez was bought in January to mitigate this, but given the injuries to Ngolo Kante and the ill-fit of Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount, this did not solve the problem.
Enter Caicedo and Lavia. Chelsea beat off tough competition from Liverpool (who also were trying to fix their midfield this summer) to secure both players’ signatures. So what can they do to solve Chelsea’s woes?
Let’s take a look.
I want to start by saying I am incredibly jealous of Chelsea’s acquisition of both Caicedo and Lavia. They are both players that I rate incredibly highly.
Despite their limited Premier League appearances, they have shown in those small samples, great technical ability despite their young age (21 and 19 respectively) and also the potential to be among the best midfielders in the league, maybe even the world.
Caicedo provides a great replacement for Kante. The Frenchman has now moved to Saudi Arabia, but even before his departure his injuries and age had hampered his impact for the side. However, when he played, it was clear what he brought to the team - defensive presence and pressing capability but also on-the-ball talent including ball-carrying and passing under pressure.
Lavia on the other hand provides the Chelsea team with something they’ve been missing since the departure of Nemanja Matic; a player who can anchor the midfield and slow down the tempo of the game.
Southampton were dire last season and rarely dominated possession, but when they had a sustained passage of play, Lavia was often at the centre of it.
The Belgian is young, so he will likely make mistakes early on at Chelsea, but with regular game time, he should be able to grow in the role.
But this is a question that many fans, both of Chelsea and of other clubs alike, are asking. After spending all this money to bring in these players, not just in midfield but across their team, where do Caicedo and Lavia both fit in?
This is the starting XI from Chelsea’s 2023/24 opener against Liverpool last weekend:
It is clear to see where Caicedo would fit in if this remained the formation; Gallagher would probably drop from the starting XI or move further forward and the Ecuadorian midfielder would slot in alongside Enzo Fernandez.
This of course raises question marks about where Lavia would play. Is he just seen as rotation for the pivot of Enzo-Caicedo?
Well, I don’t think so. Throughout his career as a manager, Poch has rarely used a three-at-the-back formation for sustained periods. At Southampton and Tottenham, he deployed a 4-2-3-1 and at PSG he opted for a 4-3-3. This is how he lined up against Real Madrid in the Champions League while managing the French Champions.
As you can see, Pochettino deployed a flat three in midfield which embodies many of the qualities that an Enzo-Lavia-Caicedo midfield would possess (while actually being a lot more balanced).
Lavia would anchor the midfield like Paredes while Enzo would act as the creator like Verratti. The biggest departure is Caicedo for Pereira, but that is a welcome one; Caicedo is much better and offers a good work rate which would allow Chelsea’s right back to venture forward.
In many ways, it would be similar to the midfield that Jurgen Klopp deployed at Liverpool during his Champions League and Premier League winning seasons. No clear 10, a lot of energy and a lot of interchanging to minimise space off the ball and to use the space when Chelsea have the ball.
I think they will also link up well with the forward line and cover for them in transitions. Nicolas Jackson looks like an astute piece of business and while the players flanking him have not been decided yet, he will only benefit from a solid midfield behind him.
Overall the money is something that needs to be discussed, and someone much better versed in finances will probably do an incredibly detailed article on Chelsea’s business in the near future, but from a football perspective, I don’t think I could think of two better players to acquire this summer (who were available to transfer).
Chelsea have been trying to beat their rivals to the punch, signing the big stars while the competition is minimal. Sometimes this means they get them for cheaper than they would do if they waited for two seasons, but they haven’t got that lucky with Caicedo and Lavia.
Both players are Premier League ready and if they fulfil their respective potentials and help guide Chelsea back to winning ways, their fees will be well worth it.
However, there are other factors at play than just the midfield when it comes to Chelsea's success that aren’t just limited to what happens on the pitch, so we will have to see whether they are able to do it, especially when their rivals have also strengthened.
But overall, both Caicedo and Lavia get my seal of approval, even if they were very expensive.