EPL Player of the Week – Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

When a player stands out head and shoulders above the vast majority of the rest, there will always be suggestions that there will be a big money move in his not-too-distant future. The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham have seen it while in the Premier League, while Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane experienced similar things during their respective times in La Liga and Serie A. The modern day equivalent to those transfer rumblings would have to be the not so curious case of Eden Hazard, whose performances in recent months have once again sparked speculation that he could be on his way out of Chelsea this summer. One thing Hazard has in common with all of the aforementioned players? Real Madrid.

Hazard, like many others before (and surely after) him, has always considered pulling on the famous shirt of Los Blancos a dream, and the media simply will not let the links die down. Every time a transfer window comes around there is another barrage of reports suggesting that his time in London is done and he will be boarding the next plane to Madrid – and, right on cue, the talk has begun in earnest once more. That is not so surprising however – he really is one of the finest players in the Premier League, and Maurizio Sarri’s men look a different prospect entirely when the Belgian is gracing their starting lineup. He comfortably sits atop the Blues’ players charts on the Euro Fantasy League game this season with 114 points so far.

Second-placed David Luiz is a lightyear behind on just 65, and these stats show just how instrumental Hazard really is to Chelsea. Indeed, the next highest fantasy point-scoring midfielder is Willian on 47.In the last week Hazard picked up eight points from Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Cardiff, thanks to a goal scored, one assist and the clean sheet. He then followed that up this past weekend with a great 10 points in the 2-0 win over West Ham, scoring both of the goals. Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri recently admitted that it would be difficult for Chelsea to retain the services of the 28-year-old should he want to leave for suitors Real, and while this may well prove to be the case Hazard does seem happy at Stamford Bridge. It is perhaps, then, more a case that he would love the move, but won’t spit his dummy out if it doesn’t happen at this stage.

In previous campaigns such links have seemingly taking his eye away from the English game, inflicting a sharp loss of form and focus. Now a little older – and evidently a little wiser – Hazard is enjoying his football once again as Chelsea seek to try and break back in to future title contention (though it won’t happen this season). Sarri admitting that it would be tough to keep Hazard seems to provide more honesty than previous managers have afforded the public, and so no doubt there will be a real sense that something might just happen this time. Then again, if Chelsea’s resolve remains strong enough they can surely partake in negotiations which would benefit all parties – Real get their man, the player gets his dream move and Chelsea are handsomely compensated.

With the mooted £100m price tag being bandied about it would seem that both parties are far away from an amicable agreement, however. There are surely far lesser players than Hazard being touted around for similar money in the modern transfer market, and you could argue he is way more than half the player that £200m Neymar is. Then again, while he is still putting in performances of such a high standard for Chelsea perhaps the Blues’ support should enjoy watching their hero in action – potentially while they still can.

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