Chelsea
Why Chelsea will lose if Eden Hazard is converted to a striker
This is an urgent question that demands an urgent answer from only one person — Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri.
Eden Hazard is a player who knows when and how to make defenders commits blunders. His wonderful dribbling skills could be compared to a handful of players in the world.
His ability to create space from the wings so as to wreak havoc on opponent’s half still remains one of the reasons the Blues are firmly holding on to his signature
Despite all of these impressive traits possessed by the player while operating from the flanks, the former Lille star is often seen at the centre of the attacking frontline since the start of the season.
That brings out the question about the role Sarri wants the Belgian international to play in the team.
Since Hazard’s first season at the Stamford Bridge, he has never scored up to 20 goals in a single season, but that didn’t overshadow the fact that he’s an important and integral part of the team.
Four games into the season, Hazard has already scored five goals, making him one of the leading goalscorers in the League.
Having seen how prolific Hazard has suddenly become, a very happy Maurizio Sarri publicly charged the player to score more goals before the end of the season.
In fact, the former Napoli manager categorically told Hazard to break his goalscoring record as he wants him to notch nothing less than 20 Premier League goals.
With Sarri’s mission for Eden Hazard, it is obvious the player would feature more as a striker than being a winger.
Can Hazard succeed as Chelsea’s hitman?
Over the years, the Blues are known for possessing deadly and clinical strikers as their hitman.
Didier Drogba, who recently retired from football, was one player who could score goals at ease. His huge physical presence is enough to scare opponents, while his accuracy from range was one of the reasons he’s regarded as Chelsea’s legend.
As much as Nicolas Anelka who didn’t enjoy much success like the Ivorian but still had a great spell during his days at Stamford Bridge.
Anelka’s height makes him a deadly striker in the air, just as Didier Drogba.
Though Hazard possesses a wide range of tricks, he didn’t possess the traits needed to be a successful striker for Chelsea or any other Premier League club.
He is not that type of player who loves to strike from outside the 18-yard box, hence, scoring plenty of goals will be a very difficult task to achieve.
Hazard’s recent goal drought is an evidence he’s not born to be a striker, so, Sarri shouldn’t make him one.
If Sarri must convert the player at all, he should make him play behind the leading striker.
As a playmaker, the Belgian is capable of attracting many defenders to himself so as to give strikers much space to operate.
Sarri would fail to profit from Hazard’s tricks and wonderful display from the flanks, should he convert the player into a striker.
The Italian manager will also fail to count on the 27-year-old striker for many goals as that has never been part of his game and will never be – not in Chelsea, not in Premier League
