The Belgian discusses a Double-winning season in France and a magical Chelsea debut, as well as the best performance of his career to date.

I started playing football at a very early age. My godfather was the manager of my village team and the bottom of my garden was right next to the pitch. I was watching them play from my garden and I asked my dad if I could go and join in, and he said yes. I was four or five and they were around eight or nine, so I went and trained with them and I was quite good, so my godfather said to my dad he felt I could do something in football.

I moved to Lille at 14 but I’d been training with them since I was 12. I would go and play tournaments at first but when I was 14 I said to my dad I needed to go there permanently. My mum and dad wanted me to stay because I was still very young, so I stayed there during the week and then went home at weekends. I was so happy to play there because Lille, at that time, had one of the best academies in France. When I was 15 I started training with the first team, so when I look back at those days it was very good because I met my best friends there and they are still my best friends now. I was 16 when I made my first-team debut for Lille.

