It hasn’t been a great season for Real Madrid’s forwards it seems, particularly for Gareth Bale. While the highly renowned offensive trio of ‘BBC’ has combined for just two goals this season, the Welshman has struggled with injuries and a significant dip in performances.
According to Don Balon, the defending champions of Spain are already preparing for life without Gareth Bale, as they identified Chelsea starlet Eden Hazard as their number one target next summer. Real Madrid boss Florentino Perez has already drawn up a list of targets for the club next summer, and as per reports, head coach Zinedine Zidane has made a personal plea to the club to bring Hazard in, next summer.
The inclusion of Eden Hazard definitely makes sense for Los Blancos, who have been decimated by injuries to their star players time and time again in these last few seasons.
Cristiano Ronaldo has already missed the first four La Liga outings due to suspension while star forward Karim Benzema is out with an injury. In fact, Gareth Bale has also picked up a muscular problem, which will be even more worrying for head coach Zidane.
Eden Hazard, on the other hand, has been one of the most ever-present figures in Chelsea’s success in the past few seasons. The Belgian had immense success in the Premier League, none more so than last season, where he achieved his career-best tally of 16 Premier League goals in a single season.
There are very few players in the world who can tread on the shoes of Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard is certainly one of them.
An artist in the offensive third, Hazard’s dribbling qualities is what makes him a top-class attacker. The 26-year-old often uses his body weight to shrug off defenders and to keep hold of the ball as well.
Hazard attempted more take-ons than anyone else in the league(146). Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha managed the second most take-ons with just one less than the Belgian. However, his take-on success rate(59%) was highly inferior to Hazard’s stunning rate of 76%.
In addition to his dribbling qualities, he is also regarded as a specialist when it comes to creating chances in the final third. In recent years, the Belgian has evolved into more of a central figure rather than playing out wide, like in his first couple of seasons in the Premier League, which only bodes well for Real Madrid, considering their wide-attacking fullbacks and the coherent offensive trio they possess.
At 26 years of age, Hazard is definitely at the peak of his career at the moment, and his addition to this strong Real Madrid lineup could prove to be a game changer for Los Merengues. Not only will it greatly influence the Real Madrid attack but it can make a massive statement for other top clubs in Europe as well.
