Eden Hazard - The Man Chelsea Need to Make Fernando Torres Shine
At present, it looks as though Roman Abramovich’s £50 million may need further investment to enable us to see the best of his original big-money acquisition – Fernando Torres.
The Spaniard and Didier Drogba have looked poles apart when paired in attack thus far, and Carlo Ancelotti’s failure to force the duo into an instant cohesion, along with a trophyless campaign, has cost him his job.
The striking ranks seems packed to the rafters at Stamford Bridge. Drogba, Torres, Nicolas Anelka and Daniel Sturridge, who’s returned from an encouraging loan spell at Bolton, are all vying for that one spot to spearhead Chelsea’s attack.
Inevitably, the new manager will be posed with the same conundrum as his Italian predecessor. There’s no getting away from the fact Torres has to play but it’s difficult to see both he and Drogba striking a bond. Both are too similar for that.
Torres flourished at Liverpool when he had Steven Gerrard sitting just behind him, linking up and providing an outlet to the striker. Frank Lampard offers something similar in the respect he is normally the furthest forward of the central midfield.
But Lampard’s agenda is different. His game is about delayed runs into the box and feeding off cutbacks rather than solely linking up with a striker.
And this is perhaps the type of mould Chelsea need to sign this summer. Someone brought in to link in with Torres, but allowing the Spaniard to lead the attack. And this is where Eden Hazard comes in.
The 20-year-old won Ligue 1 comfortably with Lille last season and his contribution was significant. Having scored eight goals, the Belgium international also pitched in with eight league assists, including 2.55 key passes per game, while having a pass success rate of 80%.
Hazard’s ball-retention skills, along with his ability to contribute to a side’s attacking play, display all the characteristics in someone who would play just behind Torres. Whoscored.com’s statistical player analysis indicates he’s a player who frequently plays short passes and has a tendency to lay the ball off, which makes him a perfect accomplice for any striker, and with Chelsea’s through ball and short passing style, the midfielder would be set to flourish at Stamford Bridge.
The Lille man also has the ability to create chances of his own. He’s averaged 2.7 successful dribbles per game in Ligue 1 this time, while he’s the second most-fouled player in the French top flight behind Paris-Saint Germain’s Nene.
Hazard ended the campaign with an average rating of 7.28, while scooping Whoscored.com’s man of the match award four times.
In comparison, Lampard scored 10 times in the league this season but grabbed on two assists.
His shots per game ratio was significantly higher than Hazard’s as the Lille midfielder averaged under a shot a match, while Lampard’s record was 2.3.
But the Lille ace’s trumped Lampard in his key passes per game count as the Chelsea man averaged 2.17.
Lampard is also less of a player who likes to dribble, according to our statistics, but his league rating was marginally higher than Hazard’s at 7.44, although his man of the match count was exactly the same as the Belgian’s.
