In pre-season, he was able to show the form that led Chelsea to snatch him away from Liverpool.

“I heard about Chelsea long before the deal,” said Lavia. “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 development team.

“Rodri, Fernandinho, Kevin de Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva played alongside me,” Lavia added. “These players could play in midfield and other positions if necessary. When you look at that, you say: ‘Wow, that’s the level.’

“They always have their heads in the ground and work.”

Lavia said he left City because he wanted to play in the first team, just like Cole Palmer did last year and Jadon Sancho before them.

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

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

“I felt like I could play and it was just a matter of finding the best opportunities to get there as quickly as possible.”

He seems ready to start in the Maresca midfield as a base, with two of Enzo Fernandez’s players, Moises Caicedo and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, alongside him as a more attacking eight.

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

“Man City and all the other successful teams took years to achieve this. I’m not saying we need the same number of years, but it will definitely take time. We are aware that it will not take two weeks.

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