Is Eden Hazard set to have his best season yet at Chelsea?
Published:
Sarriball should suit Belgian star very well
With less than two days of the transfer window to go, it’s looking more and more likely that Eden Hazard will remain a Chelsea player this summer.
It’s 2/1 that the Belgium captain joins Real Madrid, but with so little time to replace him, it’s hard to see Chelsea sanctioning a sale for any price.
Hazard’s international teammate Thibaut Courtois seems determined to force a move to the Santiago Bernabeu through, but the 27-year-old seems content to stay in West London.
And the Coral News Team have looked at why the arrival of new Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri could be very good news for him…
Attacking approach
Hazard has the ability to beat defenders effortlessly, as well as score and create goals. But his time at Chelsea has been spent playing for managers who favour a defensive approach.
Jose Mourinho got Hazard to track back more initially, but that took him away from the areas where he’s most effective.
Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 system gave him plenty of freedom, but he was isolated too often. He carried the burden of creating in the final third almost on his own under the Italian.
Sarri has a totally different view of the game to his two predecessors. He wants his team to control the ball and take the initiative.
Hazard was already one of the best players in the Premier League, even though Chelsea’s team’s tactics have rarely suited him. Now he’ll have midfield runners to link up with and full-backs flying forward. He could be better than ever.
Sarri boost
One of the most impressive aspects of Sarri’s management is how he works with the players in his squad. The likes of Dries Mertens, Kalidou Koulibaly and Lorenzo Insigne all dramatically improved under his leadership at Napoli.
Insigne is a similar player to Hazard – both are very skilful and look to cut inside from the left flank. In his three seasons in the Napoli first-team before Sarri’s arrival, the Italian scored 16 goals in all competitions. Under Sarri, his return rocketed to 47 goals in three years.
Hazard is a more frequent scorer than Insigne, but there’s a sense he could become even more effective. He’s only scored more than 15 league goals in a single season once during his six years at Stamford Bridge. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him break that barrier this season.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
