Eden Hazard has been one of the best players in the Premier League so far this season and is on a hot run of for as he has scored or assisted a goal in each of his last five appearances. With his exceptional dribbling skills, exuberant confidence and an ability to play dangerous passes he has caused huge problems to opposition defenders and has reached a new level undoubtedly aided by the arrival of the Spanish duo of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas. But is that level, seven goals in 19 games so far in the league, what one would term as ‘World Class’ yet? We take a look.
The flamboyant Belgian who will be turning 24 in a week’s time admitted himself in October this year that he does not consider himself in the top five players of the world.
He said, “I’m not a top-five player yet.”Maybe I’m close to it, but I still have to work on some aspects. You can only be part of that group if you are decisive in the top games.”
“Who are better than me? The two extra-terrestrials, Ronaldo and Messi, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Franck] Ribery and [Arjen] Robben. They make the difference almost every game.”
Arrival from Lille and settling at Chelsea
Hazard had an extraordinary last season at Lille on the back of which he was signed in which he scored 20 goals and assisted a further 16. The £32 million signing from Lille adapted to life in London like a duck to water, scoring nine goals and registering 11 assists in his debut season.
Last season, he took responsibilities of scoring goals and was the top scorer with 17 goals in all competitions when his side struggled with underperforming strikers.
His performances in the past two seasons have had him shortlisted for the PFA player of the years as well as the Young Player of the year, the latter of which he won last season along with the Chelsea Player of the season award last season. He is on course to be on the six-man shortlist for both the PFA honours again because he was 23 when the season began.
Era of Messi and Ronaldo
While defining a player as World Class or not in the age of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, one has to reflect on the astounding feats the duo has achieved. They break records almost every month, get nominated for Balon D’or on principle and score goals at the rate of more than one a match. We should be grateful that we are alive in such circumstances but it is a tad unfortunate for the players who are just below that top-rung. Hazard falls in that category which includes a few other players like Luis Suarez, Gareth Bale, Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez, etc.
Hazard’s excellent 2014
Hazard is whoscored‘s highest rated player with a rating of 7.98, with teammate Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero trailing in his wake. The fact that he has been fouled more than any other player in the league (55) is an indication of how scared the opposition defenders are of him and consider him such a threat that it’s imperative to stop him by fair means or otherwise.
He has completed 89 dribbles so far, 28 more than both Alexis Sanchez and Raheem Sterling and no player across Europe’s top 5 leagues has completed more passes (35) in the opposition’s box than Eden Hazard this season.
With 43 key passes this term, he is just three behind Fabregas’ total although has a slightly better pass accuracy of 89% than the Spaniard.
Testament to the fact that he is much more than just beating his man, he has created more chances (92) than any other player in the Premier League in 2014. He has also player 9 through balls in the league, joint 3rd highest in that aspect along with Fabregas in 2014.
Conclusion
Hazard is a big game player capable of scoring goals, possessing a fantastic vision and is a wonderful player to watch. Chelsea are set to offer him a new £200,000-a-week five-year contract, which shows how much Chelsea value him as he will become the highest paid player at the club. The impact he has on games has steadily increased and though Costa has relieved him of the burden to score, there is no doubt that he will score at a better rate with time. Having said that, it would be foolish to think that just because he doesn’t score as often as some of the prolific strikers in the world of football today, the winger is not in the world class bracket. It would be akin to comparing Sergio Ramos’ goal scoring record with that of Andres Iniesta.