Eden Hazard: Is Lille Midfielder Really as Good as They Say He Is?

He can't be, right? Or can he?

For the better part of a year, football fans have sifted through story after story linking Belgian midfielder/forward Eden Hazard with a transfer to the English Premier League.

Now 21, Hazard is set to decide his future in the coming days. The Lille midfielder is widely expected to join English champions Manchester City in a blockbuster move.

So is Hazard really as good as they say? Let's find out.

WhoScored.com rates Hazard second-best among all Ligue 1 players this season, with one game remaining.

Hazard ranks higher than other highly esteemed players like Loïc Rémy (Marseille), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille), Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Javier Pastore (PSG) and Olivier Giroud (Montpellier). In fact, Hazard trails only PSG's Brazilian midfielder Nenê.

According to WhoScored, Hazard has completed better than 81 percent of his passes this season (while completing an average of 51 per match). In addition to his 17 goals and 16 assists in Ligue 1 play, he has contributed 2.5 shots and 2.8 key passes per game.

In Champions League matches, Hazard's pass completion rate rose to 60.2 percent, but he took fewer shots and completed fewer key passes.

Stats, however, only tell part of the story. Seeing a player in action is arguably even more important in evaluating a player's strengths and weaknesses.

Most fans of the English Premier League won't have watched Hazard often this season, apart from perhaps Lille's matches in the Champions League.

But French legend Zinedine Zidane has seen Hazard play, and he was mightily impressed. For those that don't read Spanish, the gist of Zidane's statement is that he'd bring Hazard to Real Madrid "with eyes closed."

Hazard has won plaudits from his peers, winning the French footballers' player of the year award (UNFP) in back-to-back seasons.

None of that means he'll definitely succeed in England. But on the other hand, the awards suggest Hazard is, in fact, as good as advertised.

We'll find out next season for sure.

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