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Theo Walcott has suggested midfielder Romeo Lavia may not be given an opportunity at Chelsea, despite joining the club from Southampton last year in a £58m deal.
The 20-year-old impressed for the Saints in the 2022-23 season, making 30 appearances alongside former Arsenal winger Walcott, who claimed a move to Liverpool might have been the better choice for his former team-mate.
That earned him a big-money move to Chelsea, but a series of injuries meant he managed just one Premier League appearance last season.
“He’s a very talented footballer, very talented,” Walcott told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I saw him week in, week out – he trained his heart out, probably trained too much and then obviously got that serious injury.
“There was talk of him going to Chelsea and Liverpool, and I thought, as a player, Liverpool would be the perfect club right now. Their midfield at the time was rebuilding and it was a new structure.
“Players can make their choice, of course. His career’s stagnated a bit but he’s had a really good pre-season [at Chelsea] and I hope he plays. I always like to keep an eye on players I played with and I want them to do well, particularly players that are good lads, work hard and want to learn.
“But I just felt Liverpool was the perfect club for him at that time in his career if he was going to move on [from Southampton].
“I’m worried that he will be one of those Chelsea players that will just move on and you won’t hear much of him. The amount of players Chelsea are signing, there are good players who just won’t get a chance. They just won’t be seen or sent on loan to lower league clubs.”
Chelsea, who appointed former Leicester boss Enzo Maresca as Mauricio Pochettino’s replacement, have been busy in the transfer market again this summer.
Several youngsters have arrived, including midfielders Omari Kellyman and Renato Veiga, while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has arrived in a £30m deal from Leicester to further bolster the midfield. Pedro Neto has also joined from Wolves for £54m.
“I don’t know how, as a dressing room, that’s going to be maintained and managed,” Walcott added. “They haven’t got a big character, like a John Terry or a Frank Lampard, to get hold of some of these players and put them in their place.”
Chelsea begin their Premier League campaign against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
