Footage here - he looks quite sharp there, albeit in U21 setup. Good to see him playing again - his passing is crisp.

He would be such an important member of the squad if he could stay fit, fingers crossed for the lad.

Dirty Leeds

Very similar play style and role to Santos, so no need to rush him back

Hate to see players careers threatened through injury.

If we are frustrated imagine how he feels, unfortunately there have been to many false dawns to get excited this time but he can have another 🤞

4 hours ago, C3blue said:

Hate to see players careers threatened through injury.

If we are frustrated imagine how he feels, unfortunately there have been to many false dawns to get excited this time but he can have another 🤞

His weekly wage can soften to blow

6 hours ago, C3blue said:

Hate to see players careers threatened through injury.

If we are frustrated imagine how he feels, unfortunately there have been to many false dawns to get excited this time but he can have another 🤞

Feck him and how he feels he’s still swanning around in his fancy car. Maybe give some of his wages back

37 minutes ago, Andy2461 said:

Feck him and how he feels he’s still swanning around in his fancy car. Maybe give some of his wages back

This is up there with ‘Nurses should get Footballers wages’ as the worst shouts about.

Do you give work back their day rate if you’re ill?

It’s part and parcel of the game, BlueCo are happy to underpay him and stretch that over a huge length (50K P/W over 7 years for someone of his ‘talent’ isn’t market value at all) the flip side is if he’s injured long term and not contributing he also still gets paid.

1 hour ago, The Boehly Babes said:

This is up there with ‘Nurses should get Footballers wages’ as the worst shouts about.

Do you give work back their day rate if you’re ill?

It’s part and parcel of the game, BlueCo are happy to underpay him and stretch that over a huge length (50K P/W over 7 years for someone of his ‘talent’ isn’t market value at all) the flip side is if he’s injured long term and not contributing he also still gets paid.

If I was off sick the amount he is any of us would of sacked

Tangentially related in places (in a Dark Side of the Moon/Wizard of Oz way):

On 21/02/2026 at 19:38, Andy2461 said:

If I was off sick the amount he is any of us would of sacked

That would be illegal, you can't be sacked for being ill and written off by a doctor.

A reminder yesterday of what an absolute beast Lavia can be IF he can stay fit.

He has the potential to be our best midfielder. Snaps into tackles like Caicedo and has the vision and passing range of Santos. A fully fit Lavia going into next season would be one hell of a bonus.

4 minutes ago, Nibs said:

A reminder yesterday of what an absolute beast Lavia can be IF he can stay fit.

He has the potential to be our best midfielder. Snaps into tackles like Caicedo and has the vision and passing range of Santos. A fully fit Lavia going into next season would be one hell of a bonus.

I think most on here would agree. The issue with Lavia has never been talent. We just have to hope he can stay fit.

So here is one thing I have not considered for the team. What if Lavia can stay ft for the remainder of the season?

Does he go in to the starting 11 and, if so, who comes out?

Yes there will be suggestions that Enzo drops out but we know that wont happen.

48 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

So here is one thing I have not considered for the team. What if Lavia can stay ft for the remainder of the season?

Does he go in to the starting 11 and, if so, who comes out?

Yes there will be suggestions that Enzo drops out but we know that wont happen.

Probably Andrey Santos. Wouldn't be my choice, but I think we can all see how BlueCo operate by now ...

2 hours ago, axman2526 said:

So here is one thing I have not considered for the team. What if Lavia can stay ft for the remainder of the season?

Does he go in to the starting 11 and, if so, who comes out?

Yes there will be suggestions that Enzo drops out but we know that wont happen.

It will be Andrey and it should be Andrey; because Lavia and Santos are very similar in characteristics: they are both good passers, good on the ball, and operate from deep positions. Neither has the knack to do something in attack--not that Enzo is that strong in attacking positions mind you.
Caicedo is evidently the best ball winning CM even if operates from a deep lying position too.
Enzo is the only one who is currently capable of doing the B2B and that's why he always plays. Maybe Santos can develop more that side of his game, but he's not currently doing a lot of that movement.
As someone who rates Enzo, I think he's on the rounded side and still more of a CM than CAM. One of the reasons I consider the roster unbalanced....
I suspect Enzo receives a lot of criticism for not being the player we are missing.

Edited March 3Mar 3 by acaeus

13 hours ago, axman2526 said:

So here is one thing I have not considered for the team. What if Lavia can stay ft for the remainder of the season?

Does he go in to the starting 11 and, if so, who comes out?

Yes there will be suggestions that Enzo drops out but we know that wont happen.

Lavia is at his best as the deepest dm and Santos is currently playing that role so the answer is obvious.

But 4 midfielders for 3 spot is already bare minimum so it really doesn't matter.

Lavia and Santos share the workload for that holding role.

Santos can cover for Caicedo when he needs a rest as the destroyer.

If we're playing a 3 man midfield Enzo should play, if we're playing a 2 man pivot Enzo should be dropped and Cole/Estevao play in the advanced role.

48 minutes ago, GarnachoCheese said:

Lavia and Santos share the workload for that holding role.

Santos can cover for Caicedo when he needs a rest as the destroyer.

If we're playing a 3 man midfield Enzo should play, if we're playing a 2 man pivot Enzo should be dropped and Cole/Estevao play in the advanced role.

If we're playing a three man midfield, personally I'd have Santos and Lavia with Caicedo roaming further forward. Moises is demonstrably the best midfielder when it comes to shooting, so why not have him in a more advanced role, plus leading the press etc ? Fernandez can cut the half time oranges ...

I genuinely think Lavia is our best midfielder, and could easily be the best midfielder in the prem, if only he could to that play more than one game every 3 months thing.

21 hours ago, dkw said:

I genuinely think Lavia is our best midfielder, and could easily be the best midfielder in the prem, if only he could to that play more than one game every 3 months thing.

That position is pivotal to how we play, from protecting the defence, being press resistance, transitions and playing through the 3rds.

And Lavia is good at them all.

It’s great to see him back. I really hope he can stay fit through end of season (and beyond). With our midfield options fit/available, I think we can win many games in midfield, something I haven’t really felt since Jorginho, Kova and Kante all played together (maybe that was just the Kante effect!).

1 hour ago, PhilH930 said:

It’s great to see him back. I really hope he can stay fit through end of season (and beyond). With our midfield options fit/available, I think we can win many games in midfield, something I haven’t really felt since Jorginho, Kova and Kante all played together (maybe that was just the Kante effect!).

It certainly had a whole lot more to do with Kante than it did with Kovacic!!

58 minutes ago, Nibs said:

It certainly had a whole lot more to do with Kante than it did with Kovacic!!

And Jorginho, seeing that name again makes me shiver...

Basically it was all down to the Kante triplets....

Edited March 5Mar 5 by dkw

4 hours ago, PhilH930 said:

It’s great to see him back. I really hope he can stay fit through end of season (and beyond). With our midfield options fit/available, I think we can win many games in midfield, something I haven’t really felt since Jorginho, Kova and Kante all played together (maybe that was just the Kante effect!).

That midfield was so good! yes, Kante was the ET there, but it was a master passer, a master dribbler, and the unplayable b2b/quickest transition in football.

I feel we’re missing a key ingredient in midfield: we don’t have a Cherki, Szoboszlai, Odegaard for the CAM position (can include B. Fernandes but I'm not a fan). Enzo does an alright job there, but I feel this squad will never challenge for the title without that kind of player.
That’s of course assuming we address the defensive line.

BTW, Odegaard's struggles and how poorly Arsenal has been playing gives me hope.