Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia says he is finally reaping the rewards of his hard work, feeling 'free' again and determined to 'change the narrative' around him. Now 22, the Belgian is on the verge of enjoying his longest spell in the Chelsea side and, if he completes 60 minutes against Brentford on Friday, will surpass his previous best run of 518 minutes without injury - including pre-season matches. Such progress has been some time in the making.

Lavia made only one appearance in his first season at Chelsea because of a serious hamstring injury. In his second campaign, he suffered a series of setbacks and missed 33 games, down from 42 the previous season, before significantly improving his availability last term by featuring in about half of Chelsea's matches. He has now remained available throughout pre-season and the opening weeks of the new campaign.

Lavia has become a regular in Xabi Alonso's midfield alongside captain Reece James, with Moises Caicedo limited to 14 minutes this season and Enzo Fernandez having left for Manchester City in a £125m transfer on deadline day. He added: 'It's part of my game as well to take responsibility and have some character. I really like being in that position and also being at this club.

Having this responsibility, it's not even pressure, it's just like privilege, so I'm actually living the dream.'.