“He is a key player” – Sky pundit names man Chelsea miss most – and it’s not Wesley Fofana | OneFootball

It’s never a good sign when your team is being analysed on Sky Sports with the question “what’s gone wrong” as the headline.

That’s exactly what was going on on Sunday, with the pundits looking back at the Blues’ defeat to Brighton on Saturday night. Former West Ham striker Dean Ashton was there to break down the result, and he made some really interesting observations as an outsider about what’s not working at Stamford Bridge right now.

You can see Ashton speaking in the clip embedded here:

Ashton picks injured player as major weakness in Blues team

Sky Sports show Chelsea’s last ten results.

A lot of people have noted that our form started to fade when Wesley Fofana got injured in December, and there’s no denying that is a major factor. But Ashton actually honed in on a different missing player – Romeo Lavia.

The team does look so much better when he’s in it, and Ashton explained why:

“Obviously, [missing] Lavia makes a big difference. When he’s in that midfield, he gives a lot more freedom for a Palmer, for an Enzo Fernandez, for the forward players, the way he plays in midfield with Caicedo. I think he is actually a key player. When he’s played, I’ve been very impressed with the setup of Chelsea’s midfield.”

It’s no coincidence that Enzo’s best run of form came with Lavia in the team, which allowed the Argentine to get forward.

This then took the pressure off Cole Palmer in attacking areas, and everything seemed to fit very nicely.

Given Lavia’s horrific injury record, it was mad to go into this season without a player who can play as a direct replacement. Bringing in Joao Felix and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who really don’t do the same thing, was a huge mistake and we’re paying the price now.