Chelsea legend Pat Nevin does not believe that Eden Hazard has the personality to be the club’s captain. Eden Hazard, 28, has just 18 months left on his Chelsea contract and he’s refused to put pen to paper on a new deal. Real Madrid remain an option for the Belgium superstar while some say he should be given the captain’s armband to remain at Stamford Bridge. But Nevin thinks that’s a bad move with Hazard not the right kind of personality.
“Is Eden Hazard a leader or a captain? Really?” he asked on 5Live. “I know he’s captain of his country, I do understand that, but he’s not that personality. He’s not that type of personality at all. Eden’s just so laid back. It’s not a weakness in character, it’s just some people are and some people aren’t. And that’s fair enough. He understands that about himself that you’re not going to get all action all the time from him, but if you play him in the right circumstances in the right situation with the right players that he can work off, he’s great.”
Hazard hit back at Maurizio Sarri on Thursday as Chelsea set up an EFL Cup final showdown with Manchester City. The brilliant Belgian scored one and helped make another, before his side triumphed on penalties to sink Spurs.
Hazard then addressed criticism from Blues boss Sarri that he is “not a leader”. He said: “I don’t care. It doesn’t matter what the manager said. I just focus on my football and want to do my best for this team.”
Sarri defended his outburst, insisting it was justified. He said: “In the last three or four matches, we had a problem – one of motivation. The players stopped having fun on the pitch. Now, with this performance and the result, we can find enthusiasm again. They reacted very well. But I didn’t attack my players. I only said that we had a problem. We need to have motivation with continuity now. I was very happy with the performance. Now it’s better because we are able to play in a final – a very difficult final.”
Meanwhile, The Blues have been linked with a move for Cagliari’s Nicolo Barella this month, as a potential replacement for Csec Fabregas. However, according to Gazzetta Dello Sport, the Italian could be on his way to Old Trafford for a deal worth £50m ($66m). Barella, who operates mainly as a box-to-box midfielder, has also attracted the interest of Inter but it appears the Serie A side are unwilling to fork out such a large fee on the 21-year-old.