Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia has said a meeting with fellow Belgian Eden Hazard has provided extra motivation as he looks to build on an encouraging start to the season.
Blues great Hazard returned to Stamford Bridge for Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Manchester United and greeted players following the final whistle.
The 35-year-old won six major honours, including two Premier League titles, with Chelsea and scored 110 goals in 352 appearances for the club before moving to Real Madrid in 2019.
Lavia said seeing his compatriot after the weekend win provided an additional incentive to continue improving.
“He’s a very important figure for me,” Lavia said on Chelsea’s website.
“We speak quite a lot. It was good to see him out here and I could see in his eyes he was happy for me and proud. It gives me that extra motivation.”
Lavia has been hampered by persistent injury problems since joining Chelsea from Southampton for an initial £53 million ($71.4m) fee in 2023.
However, he has been included in the Blues’ matchday squad for every Premier League fixture so far this season and was recently recalled to the Belgium squad.
The 22-year-old has now completed 90 minutes in consecutive appearances, against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and United in the league.
“As long as I feel good, I will do everything possible to help the team get results,” Lavia said.
“I’m feeling good, so I am very happy with my performance.
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“I’m still young and there are a lot of areas I can improve. We try to tick them off during the week. It’s a process.
“All I can say is the work we are doing with all the people at the club is going well so far. It’s just about keeping it going and hopefully we can continue this way.”
Chelsea sit fourth in the Premier League table with 16 points from nine games since the summer appointment of manager Xabi Alonso.
The Blues travel to bottom club Sunderland on Sunday before hosting Leeds following the international break.
