Eden Hazard: How Major Signing Will Impact Chelsea Blues

The roller coaster ride is finally over for Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City faithful. Former Lille star Eden Hazard announced on his Twitter page that he will be signing with Chelsea.

"

I'm signing for the champion's league winner.

— Eden hazard (@hazardeden10) May 28, 2012"

The two sides reportedly reached an agreement for £32 million over the course of five years.

What does this mean for the Blues heading into the 2012-2013 season? It means that the future is looking bright at Stamford Bridge, even after the news that star striker Didier Drogba will be looking for a new home next season.

When the Ivorian forward made it known that he was departing, Chelsea fans were looking at Juan Mata as their primary source of elegant playmaking from an attacker. Of course Fernando Torres is always an option at forward, but, despite his propensity to dribble, he occasionally has a problem holding onto the ball when he is pressured.

With Drogba gone, it seemed like Chelsea was going to have to spend a season dealing with subpar results, but now that Hazard has signed on with the club, one could argue that the Blues might be in a better position than they were before Drogba left. 

Chelsea now boasts an incredibly impressive midfield with Mata and Hazard on the pitch. Both players are great passers and are masters of possession. Chelsea was a defensive-minded team last term, but now that they have added the 21-year-old sensation to their roster, they have become more versatile on the offensive end.

The signing also helps to fill the void left by Salomon Kalou’s expected exit from London. Hazard has no problem putting the ball on net with either foot, which will help replace Kalou’s ability to score from a distance.

This also might be an opportunity for Torres to prove that he was worth the money that Chelsea had to pay to get him. He didn’t have a bad season by any means last year, but it wasn’t what you would expect for the kind of cash that Roman Abramovich had to fork over. Hazard will be able to find Torres with his renowned passing skills (30-second mark).

The midfield in London is now a powerhouse, consisting of Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Ramires, Florent Malouds, Oriol Romeu, Raul Meireles, Mata and Hazard. There are not many teams who can boast that kind of talent in the middle of the field.

Hazard isn’t going to be as dominant with Chelsea as he was with Lille, because the competition figures to be much tougher in the Premier League than in Ligue 1 where Hazard was Player of the Year. He wasn’t promised starter’s minutes at City or United, but Chelsea had no problem making that commitment to the young star.

Not only does Chelsea acquire an impressive young talent who has been compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but they effectively keep Hazard away from two of their biggest rivals in the process. Chelsea finished 25 points behind the two clubs, and they could ill afford to see either City or United add another great player to their teams.

This signing means that the rich just got richer in London. After winning a championship in thrilling fashion, Chelsea made waves in the Premier League yet again by winning the services of the highly courted Belgian international. The world is waiting to see how this will pan out for both Hazard and his new club. 

He now has a golden opportunity to establish himself as a fan favorite with Chelsea. He is so young and promising, and if he keeps improving as a player and a teammate, he could become one of the best Chelsea players of all time.