A phone call between Chelsea legend Eden Hazard and new signing Romeo Lavia is going viral after a deal was announced.
Belgium international Lavia has penned a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge after the Blues agreed a £58 million fee with Championship side Southampton for the highly-rated midfielder.
The 19-year-old, who was also strongly linked with a move to Premier League rivals Liverpool this summer, opened up about his move in an interview with Chelsea's official website.
"I’m really happy join Chelsea and be a part of this exciting project. It’s an amazing football club with a great history and I’m really excited to get started," he said.
"I can’t wait to meet all my new teammates and build a chemistry together to achieve great things together."Shortly after the transfer was announced, Chelsea posted a video of Lavia speaking to former Blues winger Eden Hazard from the Cobham training ground.
Lavia, clearly taken aback by the phone call, called Hazard "the big boss" as they discussed the move.The teenager has since explained his reasons for snubbing Liverpool in favour of a move to Chelsea.
"I think the project and ambitions of the club were key factors, but also the history behind it," Lavia said. "So, these three factors determined my decision.
"The players that we've signed are players that we've played against and I've thought, 'wow these players are good', so be able to work with them is a great feeling. I think we're all young so it will be good to make each other better."I know Diego Moreira from young. I spoke to Wesley Fofana as well, he's a good friend of mine. It seems to be a dressing room with a great vibe and i just wanted to be a part of it."
He added: "Mauricio Pochettino is a great manager. I think we all know what he's done before and when I spoke to him he was pretty clear on what he wanted and the direction he wanted the team to go in.
"His energy matched with mine, so I'm really excited to start working with him."Chelsea co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley have also welcomed Lavia to the club in a statement.
"We are very pleased to welcome Romeo to Chelsea," they said. "He demonstrated his quality in the Premier League last season at Southampton, showing maturity despite his young age, and is a player we have monitored for some time.
"We believe he is ready to make an impact at Chelsea throughout the current campaign, and in the coming years."
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