Romeo Lavia: Chelsea midfielder on dealing with injuries

In pre-season he showed that he is in shape and that was reason for Chelsea to sign him from under Liverpool’s noses.

“I had heard about Chelsea a long time ago, before that (deal) happened,” Lavia said. “It was a no-brainer. Liverpool were interested, but in my head I wanted to play for Chelsea.”

Maresca knows Lavia’s background, having worked with him when he coached Manchester City’s elite academy team.

“I had (next to me) Rodri, Fernandinho, Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva,” Lavia added. “These players could play in midfield and in different positions if necessary and that’s something that when you look at it you say, ‘wow, that’s the level.’

“They always bury their heads in the sand and work hard.”

Like Cole Palmer last year and Jadon Sancho before that, Lavia said he left City because he wanted to play for the first team.

“It wasn’t a difficult decision because I felt like I was ready to play,” he said.

“I had a good conversation with the manager (Pep Guardiola) at the time and he said: ‘Listen, you are young and you have to develop.’ He was honest about that.

“I felt like I could play and it was about finding the best opportunities to get to that podium as quickly as possible.”

He looks set to start in Maresca’s midfield, alongside two attacking players: Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

“I think we are building something great,” Lavia said. “Everyone at the club can feel it, not only the players but everyone.

“Man City and all the teams that have been successful, it took years to do that. I’m not saying we’ll need the same (amount of) years, but it’s definitely going to take time. We know it’s not going to take two weeks.

“The confidence is there and if you look at all the teams, Chelsea is the one that is growing. Even if the results are not going the way the other teams are at the moment, you can see the bigger picture.”