Alejandro Garnacho swap deal truth after Chelsea concerns made clear | Football | Sport

Manchester United made an enquiry to Chelsea about the availability of Romeo Lavia during the summer transfer window, but the Stamford Bridge hierarchy never considered offering the 21-year-old midfielder in a swap deal for Alejandro Garnacho. Lavia’s future in west London was uncertain at the end of last season following an injury he sustained at the Club World Cup.

The former Manchester City prospect, who was signed by the Blues from Southampton for £53million in August 2023, missed the remainder of the tournament due to a muscle strain. He appeared to have overcome his issues, starting three of the first four games in the United States. Having missed a significant part of the domestic season, making only 11 starts in the Premier League, this setback raised doubts about his dependability.

However, according to football.london, Chelsea kept faith in the Belgian, who is under contract until June 2030, and resisted the idea of swapping him for Garnacho. They did pursue Garnacho from United, with Enzo Maresca eventually securing his signature at the end of August in a deal worth just £40m.

It’s understood that the Red Devils enquired about Lavia during the summer, but Chelsea never offered him, while there were reported concerns over the Belgian’s fitness record. United did express interest in Christopher Nkunku, who was later signed by AC Milan for £36m.

Until earlier this month when Lavia suffered another injury, he seemed to have justified the faith of the Club World Cup winners.

Prior to picking up a muscular injury during Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Qarabag in the Champions League, he had made six appearances across all competitions.

Lavia had impressed observers, playing a key role as the Blues secured victories over Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, and Tottenham.

Now, he faces a period on the treatment table, potentially ruling him out of fixtures against the likes of Barcelona, Arsenal, and Newcastle United.

In Baku, Maresca provided his initial assessment of the setback.

The Italian said: “We feel a shame for him, especially for him. He’s not able to be fit for a long, long period. We will see now. It’s too early to understand what kind of injury. I think it’s his quad.”

Maresca later described the injury as ‘painful’. The Blues boss was acutely conscious of the gamble in fielding Lavia, drawing parallels with Reece James’s circumstances.

Prior to the lengthy journey to Azerbaijan, he outlined his strategy for the midfielder. Maresca continued: “The main target for Romeo now is to be fit.

“Don’t get any injuries. For me, at this moment, Romeo is where Reece was more or less one year ago in terms of back after a long time. We need to manage him every minute, every day, every second.

“And the target with him is just to keep him fit. So, he’s training with us. He’s OK. He’s 100 per cent fit. But, we need to be very careful with him because we don’t want him to be out again and finally he can enjoy being a football player.

“In the Forest game, we planned for him 45 minutes. Then Ajax, I think he played one hour, 70 minutes. The other day against Tottenham, when he was on, he was very good.

“We are happy with Romeo. We are happy with the way he’s progressing. And the only thing we want is to keep him fit. So, I would like to have Romeo inside the pitch always. But it’s my duty to try to protect also him.”