Eden Hazard Transfer News: Why He'll Be a Star in the Premier League

Another day of mind games from Eden Hazard, this time telling the Twittersphere he knows which Premier League club he'll be playing for—what a smart way of gaining more followers. 

Louis Saha opined with this tweet: "Apparently on his way to Chelseafc. @hazardeden10."

The key word being apparently. 

Unlike Nicklas Bendtner, Hazard's ego is proportionate to his playing ability.

This article will tell you why Lille's 21-year-old Belgian magician is a future Premier League star.

4. Eden Hazard's Mesmeric Dribbling Ability

Eden Hazard can dance his way past an opposing team whilst also being aware of his teammates. 

He doesn't dribble blind like Gervinho or Gökhan Töre. 

Do you know who has the highest dribbles per game average in Europe? Not Lionel Messi, it's Töre. 

Töre needs to remember that football is a team game, and there's no point dribbling past three opposing players, only to lose the ball trying to dribble past a fourth. 

Hazard is an effective dribbler, who is more interested in scoring goals and providing assists like Messi than inflating his dribbling stats like Töre. 

Mind you, Töre is an impressive up-and-comer. 

3. Eden Hazard Is a Splendid Playmaker

Eden Hazard is blessed with wide-ranging vision, world-class passing ability and a mind of a genius—what a combination. 

This season, he went four successive games with an assist. He also provided eight assists in a 10-game stretch. 

League Only	Assists	Shots Created	Pass Percentage
Eden Hazard	16	92	81.9
David Silva	15	104	87.1
Juan Mata	13	102	87
Aaron Ramsey	4	55	87.3
Stewart Downing	0	55	85.4

2. Eden Hazard Is Productive

In the elite European leagues, there are only two players who scored 20 goals and provided 15 assists: Lionel Messi and Eden Hazard. 

It's pointless being a flashy player with no end product—like Denílson, who was once the most expensive footballer in the world. 

Hazard is ruthless in front of goal, always looking for incisive passes (which is why his pass percentage is in the low 80s instead of the high 80s) and such a threat when dribbling. 

League Only	Goals	Assists
Messi	50	16
Cristiano Ronaldo	46	12
Nenê	21	11
Hazard	20	16
Emmanuel Adebayor	17	11
Fabrizio Miccoli	16	12
Sebastian Giovinco	15	11

1. Final Comment

If the team isn't built around Eden Hazard, he will not be world-class, as evident with his performances for Belgium under Georges Leekens. 

Keep in mind, Hazard didn't like Leekens and Leekens didn't like Hazard. 

Here's a quote from Marc Wilmots, the new Belgian manager, and make sure you read between the lines: "He's always wanted to wear the number 10 shirt and he will get it. No one is bigger than the team but I'm planning to give a special role to Eden."

Hazard loves the attention; he wants to be courted, so he needs to be treated well. When he found out Real Madrid didn't want him, he stopped flirting with them. 

For a player so lethal out wide, he doesn't want to play there anymore: 

"

It is all down to that. I have always dreamed of playing the number 10 role, and wearing that number on my back, and you can see what a difference it makes from how many goals I have scored and set up for others. That will be a consideration when I decide on my club. Where I will play will influence my thinking on who I should join.

"

This season, he has a goals scored/created average of 0.90 per game when he plays as an attacking midfielder. 

Read the bolded part of his quote, and let's look at the three teams in the running for his signature. 

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Potentially, Chelsea could play Hazard, Ramires and Juan Mata as the three attacking midfielders in the 3 of the 4-2-3-1. Ideally, it's three interchangeable attacking midfielders, but Hazard and Mata will do the interchanging. 

Manchester City (4-4-2): They don't play an attacking midfielder. David Silva and Samir Nasri start out wide and drift centrally. 

Manchester United (4-4-2): They don't play an attacking midfielder. They have two inside-out wingers in Ashley Young and Nani, whilst Antonio Valencia is a pure winger. 

Chelsea are the only team with a designated attacking midfielder. 

City are more flexible, so they can change to a 4-2-3-1, whereas the 4-4-2 is ingrained in Sir Alex Ferguson. 

It's one thing playing as a wide forward in a 4-3-3; it's another to play as a winger in a 4-4-2, where you have to attack and defend. With 0.7 tackles and interceptions per game, Hazard doesn't want to defend. 

Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com.

Please read Gregory Van Der Wiel Would Be a Stupid Signing.