Ross Barkley Says Chelsea Players Need to 'Step Up' After Eden Hazard's Exit

Ross Barkley has called on his Chelsea team-mates to "step up" to compensate for the loss of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid.

Hazard left the club at the end of last season, but the Blues are unable to bring in a replacement as they're banned from registering new players until next summer.

Barkley told Goal's Nizaar Kinsella:

"You have to fill in. Everyone in the squad understands that he [Hazard] was a great player, but he is gone. He has new challenges now and we have to replace his goals and create the chances. We have that much quality in the squad we will all step up to the plate.

"Last season when Eden wasn't playing we still won games, we still created chances. We know he is an exceptional player, but we have exceptional players in the squad. We have young ones that will step up and produce the goods as well."

He added: "We have all come back from pre-season hungry."

Kinsella shared a look at how the Blues have fared in front of goal in pre-season following their 4-3 win over Reading on Sunday:

Hazard was Chelsea's top scorer last season with 21 goals, and he also created 17.

The Blues also won't be able to call on either Alvaro Morata or Gonzalo Higuain, who contributed a combined 14 goals last season, as they have moved to Atletico Madrid and returned to Juventus, respectively.

Meanwhile, their only new arrival is Christian Pulisic, whom they signed in January and loaned back to Borussia Dortmund for the second half of the season. His most prolific season came in the last campaign, but he only found the net seven times. 

What is encouraging for the Blues is that alongside Hazard, three other players reached double figures for goals last season—Olivier Giroud and Pedro netted 13 apiece, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored 10.

They'll need a similar return this time, and if Barkley can match his best season—he bagged 12 goals for Everton in the 2015-16 campaign—that would also be a significant help to the cause.

Such was Hazard's importance to the team, there's little doubt he'll be missed this season.

If Barkley and Co. can all maximise their own output, though, they can mitigate his absence until a replacement can be brought in next year.