19 December 2019
Eden Hazard has praised Frank Lampard start as Chelsea manager and vowed to return to Stamford Bridge when he’s finished at Real Madrid.
The 28-year-old attacker won two Premier League titles, two Europa League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup in his seven years at Chelsea and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the club’s history.
Hazard made no secret of his desire to join Madrid towards the end of his stay in west London and the Belgian achieved his dream ahead of the 2019/20 campaign as he completed a €100million (£83.5m) move to the Bernabeu.
However, Hazard has had a frustrating start to life in the Spanish capital, managing just one goal before fracturing his ankle in Madrid’s 2-2 draw with Paris Saint-Germain at the end of last month.
There were initial fears that Hazard could be out until the new year, but Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is hopeful the winger will return sooner than that.
Chelsea fan Frank Khalid, well known on social media, caught up with Hazard during his rehabilitation and posted footage of their conversation on Twitter.
‘When I finish here I’ll come back,’ Hazard said when he’s told that Chelsea ‘miss’ him.
Asked whether he’s had the chance to watch the Blues this season, Hazard replied: ‘Yeah, when I can I watch. Not all the time.
‘They are doing well, they’re young. Now they can pay for players, they can buy players now. ‘I do my job here and then I come back.’
Earlier this week, Lampard promised that Chelsea will attempt to replace Hazard’s goalscoring and creativity this winter.
‘There will be discussions about where we can strengthen,’ said Lampard. ‘The transfer window will be a bit fluid. ‘It is quite clear in the summer we lost Eden Hazard who has been a huge part of scoring and creating for us in the last few seasons. We need more competition in those creative areas.’
He added: ‘We have found a way in the team where we can still be competitive in the league and the Champions League and going forward you ask “can we get even better in forward areas to help us to be more clinical?” We would always look at that.
‘At the moment we are just not converting enough chances but we are a work in progress and I am not here to criticise people because we have just qualified from a really tough group.
Source: Metro