Former Chelsea man and failed Real Madrid star Eden Hazard played a pivotal role in convincing Romeo Lavia to switch to Stamford Bridge this summer.
The Belgian had been deemed likely to trade the red and white of Southampton for Liverpool red earlier in the window, though the Merseysiders were pipped to their target after having also missed out on Moises Caicedo.
“Ironically, Caicedo played a role in persuading the Belgian to join. With Chelsea already in the process of discussing terms with Southampton, Caicedo messaged Lavia making it clear how much he wanted them to play together,” a series of reporters wrote for The Athletic.
The journalists in question added: “Then there was also a reassuring conversation with his compatriot Eden Hazard, who starred for Chelsea between 2012 and 2019.
“Just hearing what being at Chelsea and living near London was like from such an inspirational figure was reassuring even if Lavia’s heart was already set on a move to Stamford Bridge.
“This took place before a chat between the two was put on the Chelsea app after his official unveiling.”
Jurgen Klopp’s men wasted no time in reacting to the much-changed landscape, recruiting Bundesliga veteran Wataru Endo from Stuttgart to fill the No.6 void.
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Poor debut for the Blues aside, no one is under any illusion that the Ecuadorian won’t turn out to be a stellar signing for Mauricio Pochettino.
On our end, there’s still much in the way of work to be done if we’re to come out of this window not looking entirely unprepared to cope with the demands of the season ahead.
With the backline looking an injury away from crumbling and the midfield still short of at least one body, we’re still a couple of moves away from declaring this a vaguely successful window.
#Ep86 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️