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Chelsea star Eden Hazard must start to show darker side if he wants to become world’s best

Tricks up his sleeve: Eden Hazard: Getty Images
Tricks up his sleeve: Eden Hazard: Getty Images

Eden Hazard is tantalisingly close to greatness. The Chelsea winger has everything a player needs to turn matches at the highest level. He is quick, has a repertoire of tricks and scares the life out of defenders.

Six years into his career at Stamford Bridge, the Belgian should be at the peak of his powers.

He will need to be somewhere near his best tomorrow night if Chelsea are going to overpower Barcelona in the knockout stage of the Champions League. Hazard should be ranked somewhere near the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in the eyes of the world but he has not come close to achieving that kind of status.

Last week, the Premier League reannounced itself as a power in Europe’s most prestigious competition with impressive performances from Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham.

Chelsea were, of course, the last English team to win the Champions League, in 2012. Hazard arrived in west London the same year, joining the reigning European champions.

Then, he was the boy most likely to succeed Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in monopolising the Ballon d’Or. It has not worked out that way. In December, Hazard barely crept into the top 20 in voting for the award. His 19th place undersold his skills.

Hazard’s spell in the Premier League has been successful. Chelsea have won two titles, a League Cup and a Europa League. Yet they have not imposed the kind of dominance that the continent’s best sides display. The 27-year-old was dual footballer of the year three years ago but has since produced coruscating flashes rather than prolonged periods of brilliance.

The way Chelsea operate has not helped Hazard. He has worked under five managers. Only Rafa Benitez was officially described as ‘interim’ but it might have applied to every boss the winger has had in England.

The lack of leadership at the club has been matched by a dysfunctional approach to recruitment. Incoming transfers have rarely reflected the manager’s requirements. Some of the decision making has been odd.

Europe is gushing about the exploits of Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah. They could have been part of Hazard’s supporting cast but the Bridge has proved no place to nurture fragile young talent, especially during Jose Mourinho’s second spell in charge.

The framework around Hazard has not been good enough to support a superstar in the making. Mourinho and Antonio Conte worked miracles winning titles with the players available to them. If managers of that calibre cannot sustain momentum, it would be unfair to point the finger at Hazard.

Even so, the Belgian has a level of technique that should be held to the highest standards. It is not good enough for him to be merely good. He has the wit, movement and invention to outshine most of his contemporaries on a regular basis. He does not do it enough.

There are players who radiate a will to win. Diego Costa manifested this attribute in its ugliest form. Hazard is a different character. He is intelligent and composed but not the sort of mouthy dressing-room personality who will rally the side. Any leadership comes through inspirational performances.

Rumours about Real Madrid’s interest continue to swirl around the player but there are some in the Spanish capital who question whether the Belgian has the sort of mean-eyed ambition to eventually fill the boots of Ronaldo. They do not do nice at the Bernabeu.

The next month gives Hazard the chance to prove that he is a fully paid-up attacking assassin. Barcelona are the prime targets — ripping the Catalan side apart at the Bridge tomorrow would focus minds in Madrid — but the next two games are equally crucial. Manchester United lie in wait on Sunday and Hazard has another reunion with Mourinho, a manager who questioned the winger’s heart in public.

Now Hazard must send message to world that he is one of the world's best (Getty Images)
Now Hazard must send message to world that he is one of the world's best (Getty Images)

A week later Chelsea go north again, this time to the Etihad to face Manchester City. Pep Guardiola admires Hazard and, with another summer of change looming and a new manager expected at the Bridge, it would not hurt the winger to impress Guardiola.

It feels like this is the time for Chelsea’s main man to lay down a marker. To send a message to Barca — and the world — that he is one of the best players in the game. Greatness feels just a fingertip away.

If Hazard can stretch himself a little further, he can grasp it.