Gianfranco Zola has hailed Eden Hazard as Chelsea’s greatest foreign import.
Assistant coach Zola, who scored 80 goals in 312 Chelsea appearances between 1996 and 2003, needed no time to put Hazard top of the Stamford Bridge pile for overseas recruits.
2
Chelsea No 2 Gianfranco Zola was a huge hit during his playing days and holds legendary status among supporters
Ivory Coast hitman Didier Drogba and Zola would doubtless be at the forefront of fans’ minds when drawing up a list of Chelsea’s all-time great imports.
But Zola is adamant Hazard must top that chart, while admitting he still holds out hope the Belgium playmaker will not depart for Real Madrid this summer.
“Eden Hazard’s definitely at the very top,” said Zola, ranking the 28-year-old as Chelsea’s best-ever overseas signing.
“He’s such an unbelievable player. The more I’ve spent time with him the more I appreciate him as a player, but also as a boy.
“He’s been great. I would love to have him for longer.
2
However, Eden Hazard is Chelsea’s greatest foreign import, according to Zola
“What we are trying to do here perfectly suits him. It’s no coincidence that he’s having his best season.
“I don’t want to take anything away from him and what he has achieved. But certainly the way we play helps him a lot.”
Madrid are expected to lure Hazard away from Chelsea this summer, with the Belgium star’s current Stamford Bridge deal expiring at the end of next season.
Chelsea continue to hold out for £100m however, with Real boss Zinedine Zidane keen to add the livewire forward to his Bernabeu rebuilding project.
Hazard has 85 goals and 81 assists from his 241 Premier League appearances for Chelsea since his 2012 debut.
LIVE ON talkSPORT
talkSPORT is your home of live football! Here's what's coming up on talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2...
- Napoli vs Arsenal (Thursday, 8pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Sheffield United vs Nottingham Forest (Friday, 12:30pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Leeds vs Wigan (Friday, 3pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Sunderland vs Doncaster (Friday, 5:15pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Norwich vs Sheffield Wednesday (Friday, 7:45pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Newcastle vs Southampton (Saturday, 5:30pm) – talkSPORT
- Accrington Stanley vs Luton (Saturday, 5:30pm) – talkSPORT 2
- Everton vs Manchester United (Sunday, 1:30pm) – talkSPORT
- Cardiff vs Liverpool (Sunday, 4pm) – talkSPORT
Despite continuing to hope the Belgian will stay at Chelsea next term, Zola insisted the Blues can still pull off a strong end to the campaign by winning the Europa League and finishing fourth in the Premier League.
“Of course we hope that Hazard will stay with us because he’s such an important player for us,” said Zola.
“There’s a lot of talking around this team, I realise that.
MOST READ IN FOOTBALL
“But we as coaches have to make sure we are not distracted by all of that.
“We need to maintain focus, because this year a lot of times I heard talk that it’s been a bad season.
“But if we can reach the final and maybe win the Europa League and end up fourth in the Premier League, I think it could be a remarkable season.”
The key battles in the Europa League final including Eden Hazard, Petr Cech and Mesut Ozil Mesut Ozil needs to be a key figure if Arsenal are to win the Europa
Arsenal vs Chelsea: The key battles in the Europa League
Manchester United switch hotels and prepare at ancient ex
Geoffrey Boycott defends himself over Manchester United MUTV interview. Geoffrey Boycott was critical of Man Utd during an interview with the club's in-house TV station on Thursday night
Leboeuf: «Luis Suárez es un tramposo y un quejica, me alegré
Manchester City: Is this the line-up that could stop Liverpool winning the title next season? Including Ben Chilwell, Rodri and Joao Felix by: 161385360554578 — Talk Sport 14 May Manchester City wrapped up their second consecutive title on the weekend and it doesn't look they'll be stopped for years to come.
João Félix Sequeira News, Stats, Photos - Portugal - Football
TRANSFER NEWS: Live updates, gossip, rumours and deals from Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and more. Liverpool will not
Transfer news LIVE: Liverpool SHOCK exit, Man Utd to sign
Tottenham 'make contact with Real Madrid about move for Marco Asensio' but club told they must meet £600M buyout clause to get him Marco Asensio has emerged as a primary summer transfer target for Tottenham The north London club have previously failed to lure him from Real Madrid Real have 'told
Tottenham 'make contact with Real Madrid about move for Marco
James Tavernier's second-half penalty double helped Rangers finally get the better of Aberdeen in Glasgow with a 2-0 victory at Ibrox. The Dons had knocked Gers out of both cup competitions in the city, and also silenced them on their last Ladbrokes Premiership trip south.
James Tavernier penalty double delays Celtic's Scottish
fussboll.com/2019/04/28/james-tavernier-penalty-double-delays-celtics-scottish-premiership-title-celebrations/
James Tavernier penalty double delays Celtic's Scottish Premiership title celebrations. Jovani. April 28, 2019. NOT YET.
Rangers 2-0 Aberdeen: James Tavernier scores twice to deny
Michael Eisner lands in London - but Sunderland fans appear to have no idea who they're mingling with ahead of Checkatrade Trophy game against Portsmouth
Leeds United complete signing of Sweden Under-21 forward How many minutes have likes of Leeds and Villa given to youth this season. How Leeds' dreadful April record is threatening to ruin
Aaron Ramsey's Arsenal career over after hamstring injury rules him out for season. looks to have played his final game for Arsenal after being ruled out for the rest of the season with injury.
Aaron Ramsey's Arsenal career over as hamstring injury rules
After finishing fifth in the , Arsenal seemingly needed to claim Europa League glory to qualify for next season's Champions League. The Gunners threw away their grip on a top-four berth with a
Gary Lineker Asks Rio Ferdinand & Paul Scholes If Man Utd Are In Danger Of Becoming Like Liverpool Credit : BT Sport Check them out here
Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) | Twitter
0 comments:
Post a Comment