Amorim's stance on £36m Chelsea star while Romeo Lavia to Man Utd truth emerges

Chelsea never considered selling one of Enzo Maresca's prized assets in the summer transfer window despite interest from Ruben Amorim's Manchester United

Manchester United enquired about the availability of Romeo Lavia during the summer transfer window, but Chelsea chiefs never considered letting the 21-year-old midfielder go. The midfielder's future in west London was uncertain at the end of last season after he sustained an injury at the FIFA Club World Cup.

The former Manchester City prospect, who was signed by the Blues from Southampton for £53m in August 2023, had to sit out the rest of the tournament due to a muscle strain. Despite his injury woes, Lavia managed to start three of the opening four games in the United States.

Having missed a significant part of the domestic campaign, making just 11 starts in the Premier League, his setback raised doubts about his reliability.

However, according to football.london, Chelsea made clear they were keeping their faith in the Belgian, who is under contract until June 2030.

Meanwhile, the Blues were successful in signing Alejandro Garnacho from United, with Enzo Maresca securing his signature at the end of August in a deal worth just £40m. The report claims the Red Devils did enquire about Lavia during the summer, but Chelsea never offered him up.

United did, however, express interest in Christopher Nkunku, who was later snapped up by AC Milan for £36m.

Until earlier this month, when Lavia suffered another injury, it seemed like he was living up to the expectations of the Club World Cup winners.

Prior to picking up a muscle injury during Chelsea's 2-2 stalemate with Qarabag in the UEFA Champions League, the Belgian had made six appearances across all competitions. Lavia had impressed, playing a key role as the Blues secured victories against Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, and Tottenham Hotspur.

Now, he's facing a time out injured, potentially sidelined for fixtures against the likes of Barcelona, Arsenal, and Newcastle United. Speaking to journalists in Baku, Maresca gave 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."

Later, during the pre-match press briefing before Chelsea's encounter with Wolves, Maresca described the injury as 'painful'. The Blues manager was fully conscious of the gamble in fielding Lavia, drawing parallels with Reece James's predicament.

Prior to the lengthy journey to Azerbaijan, he had outlined his strategy for the midfielder. Maresca said: "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."

Maresca added: "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."